Dark, Brooding, and Brilliant

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2018)

I could tell you Clint Eastwood adds sure-handed direction for this film, and while that is true, it doesn't actually tell you anything. What I can tell you is to watch the eyes. This is a story told by the eyes, and the subject matter couldn't have been approached any better.
The plot is fantastically construed, but I believe a slight disclaimer is in order. This is a dark film. Don't come in with expectations to be cheered up after a rough Saturday night when Jimmy left you for hot Chris or whatever-- this isn't that film. And hey, a lot of the best films are very dark in nature. If you end up watching Mystic River and think to yourself, "Wow, that is such an awesome film!" then I also highly recommend the more recent Prisoners. That movie absolutely deserves a review, but not now.
Anyways, we are introduced to the 3 principle characters-- Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon-- when they were kids and loved street hockey. Two "officers" come up to them and take Dave (Robbins) in their car. It's never shown but rather highly implied of what they do to poor Dave. Flash forward to their adult lives, and all three of them have issues. Robbins is still uneasy from the childhood experience, Bacon is a detective whose wife left without a word and calls frequently (without any words either), and Penn is an ex-con. Within the first 30 minutes, Penn's 19-year-old daughter is murdered, Bacon is assigned to the case, and Robbins becomes a suspect. It's a compelling setup with all the ingredients mixed in for a great mystery, and it achieves that but with added emotional punch as well.
Anybody who says their heartbeat was normal after viewing this film is flat out lying. Penn is dynamic and on edge, Robbins is a very disturbed character whose own wife questions his sanity, and Bacon rounds it out as the sympathetic old friend. In other hands the film could have even turned sappy with all the crossing paths, but this movie is the exact opposite. It is intense in its calmness. All this combines with a score Eastwood did himself with help from his son and an orchestra.
Mystic River. It's a pretty ambiguous title that fits perfectly. There's closure to the film, but so much is left open for interpretation to the audience. And that's what Christopher Nolan films and Lost in Translation, among others, do so well that become my favorite types of movies. Throughout Mystic River is well-developed, well-thought out scene after scene that doesn't want you to see it again the next day or even the next week, but in a year or so, you will be dragged back to the film with the eagerness and anticipation to understand the puzzle fully even if it's missing one piece. Perhaps I have not said enough about the film, or did I give just enough context to make you watch it? Who knows, I'll leave it up to you.
You can find this review and dozens of others at gillipediamoviereviews.blogspot.com