subtext!!

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 2003)

I've read many reviews and comments about this film, but few seem to grasp what this film is really about.
Some have rightly pointed out that it is a film about the consequences of vigilantism, a film about revenge and (as Clint himself said) how 'evil begets evil'. But the ending has confused, even annoyed many people. Some have expressed concern that the message seems to be that it's OK to commit murder as long as you do it in the name of your family. They wonder what Eastwood and Helgeland were thinking to devise such a 'hateful and evil' message. But this is a most important and searching question, for it focuses on the crux of the film.
The Corleone family in THE GODFATHER films (the ultimate vigilante's) were a law unto themselves - any action was justifiable if it was in the interest of 'the family'. This is a creed most would recognise as hateful and evil. In MYSTIC RIVER, we watch a vigilante story play itself out, culminating in a patriotic street parade inter-cut with what seems to be a justification for vigilantism. This is not mere irony. Eastwood portrays a community in which vigilantism has a place, a community not so different from those in Western sagas where lawless frontiers were tamed by men who spoke with the barrel of gun. He is drawing a contemporary analogy.
It's no coincidence that some of the characters are mute. Muteness is part of the subtext of the film, referring to having no voice or refusing to use the one we have. Nor is it coincidental that in the final few minutes we observe mute communication (through eye contact and hand gestures) between characters who seem to be expressing a mute acquiescence.
In MYSTIC RIVER, Eastwood asks us to examine our own muteness - our own 'hearts of darkness'. The film ends with the camera (the viewer) plunging into the dark and murky Mystic River, suggesting that we are on the verge of plunging headlong into dark irreconcilable waters. The film is an allegory that warns against ideas and actions that lead people, countries and governments (!!) into political vigilantism.
I wouldn't call MYSTIC RIVER a great film, but because of the importance (and potency) of the message, it deserves serious consideration for its disturbing and daring subtext.