Eastwood's Masterpiece: Mystic River is already a drama classic!

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2011)

Whatever it is that makes Clint Eastwood brilliant as a director it's once and for all epitomized in 'Mystic River'. Clint Eastwood accomplishes the most difficult and for most unattainable feats of a world class director with this movie that will always remain one of his best.
First of all, he maintains a sober undramatic and straightforward direction (characteristic of him) while still covering and closely portraying the whole range of human emotion (and we're really talking the WHOLE range of emotion here).
Secondly he manages to capture the most complex psychological condition in a single, simply filmed scene, sometimes even in a single shot (a particular scene with Tim Robbins as the formidably driving force behind it springs to mind, a scene that still gives me the creeps just thinking about it).
Thirdly, he's able to maintain an almost Hitchcockian suspense throughout the movie while at the same time patiently conducting the story, not rushing anything, letting the tragic and dramatic events unfold themselves naturally, at the same time inevitably and therefore painfully, but never forcing any part of the plot. The movie keeps you at the edge of your seat, it keeps you curious, sometimes afraid of what's gonna happen, it absorbs you completely and involves you in what's happening (at least it did all these things for me). The main reason for that, imo, is the last and strongest feat of this movie: the performances.
Eastwood has proved himself one of those exceptional directors that can tickle the best possible performances out of his actors and all of the performances in this movie are unanimously phenomenal (2 Oscars for leading and supporting actor)! Of course Sean Penn stands outhe's the leading man and Jesus what the f**k a leading man he is! As a father who loses his daughter in the most brutal way, who is unable to cope with the pain and is (ultimately) manically driven into avenging his daughter's death, Eastwood and Brian Helgeland (the screenwriter, story based on the novel by Dennis Lehane) provide Penn with the emotionally vast landscape wherein he can unleash his terrifyingly exceptional abilities as an actor. Penn has been an acting phenomenon for some time now, however this movie comes closer to an apotheosis of him as a character actor than any other of his previous performances (and yes, 'I am Sam' and 'Sweet and Lowdown', among other over-the-top performances, are considered; '21 grams' and the again Oscar-winning performance in 'Milk', both equally fantastic, came after 'Mystic River'). Penn aside however, all other actors are presenting one of their best work here; Tim Robbins (won the Oscar for best supporting actor, Penn won for leading actor) is I think the secret star of the show; while the brilliance of Penn's performance is savagely hitting you in the face with every scene he's in, Robbins's acting is, in accordance with his character, very subtle and silent, yet powerful in his understatement; however, there are scenes where the character is unveiling something deeply hidden, is revealing his innermost psychic self, and Robbins's sudden intensity and abruptly exploding mania in those scenes is unmatchable by anything he has done before. It may seem tedious to name all other actors that give their expected brilliant performances or, in most cases, surpass all previous ones, still it must be stressed, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne are all doing a top-notch job; Harden particularly is involved in some extremely emotionally difficult scenes; Laura Linney is 'outing' herself as one of the most diabolic characters of the movie in one of the very last scenes of the film, a last twist that turns another character into an ambiguous construction in a movie so emotionally and psychologically complex.
Which brings us to the mastermind behind this picture, Clint Eastwood. Without overcomplimenting or saying too much, the guy who as an actor paradigmatically incorporated the stiff tongued, steely eyed, cold blooded badass has, for his relatively new role as a director, extracted a soberness and clarity from his previous actor persona when he chose to delve into the most difficult emotional and psychological situations imaginable. This is why his movies work. Nothing is overstretched or exaggerated; everything's kept simple, direct, and therefore effective and striking. There are scenes in this movie you won't forget due to several factors: the suspense that almost every scene is electrically charged with, the gripping storyline, the exceptional acting performances, and the brutal immediateness with which every scene hits you all work together to make 'Mystic River' a modern masterpiece of drama cinema.