A Very Heavy, Dark Movie

Rating: 7/10 (28 June 2009)

"Mystic River" begins with the abduction and sexual assault of a young boy, and that sets the stage for the whole movie. No, this is not light, fluffy entertainment. This is a dark, heavy and tragic story about how a horrible event affects 3 (and, ultimately, more) lives. When Dave was abducted, he was playing street hockey with two friends, but it was Dave who was taken. After the portrayal of the assault, the movie picks up years later, when the lives of all three begin to come together again when the daughter of one of the three is murdered. Dave was played by Tim Robbins, who I thought was very convincing as a man tormented by his past. Jimmy, the father of the murdered girl, was also well played by Sean Penn. The character came across as something of a gangster-type, who decides to seek his own revenge against his daughter's killer. The most disappointing performance (perhaps because he was playing the least interesting character) was from Kevin Bacon as Sean, who has become a police detective and is hunting down the murderer.
The story unfolds slowly but remains interesting throughout. The suggestion throughout was that Dave was the murderer, but right from the beginning that seemed too easy and obvious to me. That suspicion led to ultimately tragic results at the end of the movie that were at least the equal of the tragic beginning of the movie. Good use was made of locations, which added a realistic feel to the movie throughout. The strange relationship between Sean and his ex-wife, who would repeatedly phone him and then not speak, struck me as a little bit silly and I thought detracted from the story. In the end, I also wasn't sure how I should feel about what was happening. On the one hand, you have to feel sympathy for Jimmy, who has to come to terms with his daughter's murder. On the other hand, you have the sense that this guy needs to face some consequences for what he's done, and there's no indication that he will. So I was left with mixed emotions.
Certainly, a good movie - but, as I said, a very heavy movie. 7/10