I just don't get it

Rating: 5/10 (16 December 2004)

I finally saw this movie for the first time the other day, nearly a year after its theatrical release to overwhelming critical acclaim, including a few Academy Awards. But frankly, I was pretty disappointed with it. What I saw was little more than a corny melodrama, laced with excellent acting performances but flawed by a terribly hokey and unoriginal script. Despite its critical acclaim, which I imagine can be attributed directly to Hollywood's nearly blind idolization of Clint Eastwood, this movie boils down to your standard cop-solves-murder-mystery fare. Mystic River is so uninspiringly melodramatic that it could have been made for TV instead of for the big screen. In fact, you can see movies just like this one on Lifetime every day.