Powerful, just powerful...!

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2004)

A good film is as good as a good book. Just as a good book lingers in your mind long after reading it - so much so that you are almost living in the world of the book - the images and the characters linger on long after watching a good movie... Clint Eastwood, from Dennis Lehane's book, and Brian Helgeland's writing has powerfully narrated a pathos-ridden story with a very palpable emotional impact... The film, with its issues of mistaken identity and perceptions, emotional trauma and loss and a rich characterization is indeed reminiscent of the unforgettable literary characters of George Eliot, Victor Hugo and Hardy...it is a story, had they seen/read it, would have met with their unanimous approval!

Eastwood's almost documentary style and use of minimal music add to the total effect of the movie. Unlike what some people feel, the real denouement of this tale is not Dave's murder or the apprehension of the real killers of Katie, it is Sean Devine telling Jimmy about the truth - the impact of each word poignant and devastating, it is Jimmy's reaction ("the last time I saw Dave...was 25 years ago..."), it is Celeste's haggard appearance - having not only lost her husband, but also her son...we leave Mystic River anxiously wondering what will happen next... What will be Celeste's redemption? Will, as Sean Devine wonders, redemption for Jimmy be to send Celeste 500$ per month? Leaving the theatre after watching a film like this, is like leaving the home of some really close friends whom you had visited that day on account of some tragedy that had befallen them and whom, before leaving, you keep on reminding, "If there's anything I can do, let me know..." knowing full-well that there is NOTHING that you can do...only eventuality can rectify these fatal errors...
Hats off to the stellar performances by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins. They both truly deserved all the praise and awards heaped on them. I was very glad that Sean Penn, after SO many memorable performances finally got acknowledged for his oeuvre! And Tim Robbins, with that haunted look in his eyes, his awkward gait and meek stance gave one of the most memorable performances by any actor on screen...
This film is a powerful reminder that we as humans often negate the line between truth and falsehood, illusion and reality, although both are so mutually exclusive. It is a reminder to us to be vary of being swayed by prejudice, just believing in how things "appear" than how they actually are...
This is a powerful piece of filmmaking...