Good acting, shame about the story

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2003)

Yes, this is an interesting theme: boys suffer childhood trauma which is significant when their lives are coincidentally brought back together many years later as adults. But hasn't Kevin Bacon covered this material before in "Sleepers"?
Yes, the acting is pretty good (a little over the top sometimes, so I refrain from using terms such as superb, terrific or wonderful). Penn, as always turns in a great performance, but the Tim Robbins character is insufficiently flawed and our cops Bacon and Fishburne are just a little too self-centered, slick, over-confident and arrogant.
Yes the cinematography has been well executed; most of the scenes have a dull grey dreariness about them and we can understand why some might want to escape this existence. But here are a few problems:
1) I'm going out on a limb here  but where's the character development? At what point did the boy's friendship disintegrate. Was it immediately after `the incident'? Why did Sean Devine become a cop? How long has he worked with Whitey Powers? If Dave Boyle is such a `basket case' how did he make it through his teenage years and early adult-hood and what effect has it had upon his marriage? Sure we got a fair amount of history around Penn's character, but what about the others? And don't get me started on the wives. We learn very little about them until we're into the final 10 minutes.

*** MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD ***
2) There is no great revelation or pivotal point in the story. I was waiting and hoping for one but it never came. In fact the story ran out of steam at the end with a rather pitiful explanation for the girl's death (hmm: accidental shooting followed by beating to death with hockey stick) that suggested perhaps the producers, even Eastwood, had either run out of money or enthusiasm.
3) Far too many coincidences: cop from across town covers the murder of the daughter of his old buddy, daughter just about to leave town, Dave Boyle attacks someone else on the SAME NIGHT, Dave Boyle gets bumped off the same night cops determine the real killers, cop's wife talks on the day cop supposedly wraps up the case  this is just ridiculous.
4) Brendan Harris saying to his brother `say that you love me'  what was that all about?
5) As has been referenced several times here already - Annabeth Markum saying to her husband, towards the end `you could be king' etc.  oh so she thinks it's OK to bump off the wrong guy!
6) Sean Devine, our friendly neighborhood cop, not even caring that Jimmy Markum practically admitted to bumping off poor old Dave Boyle. But then, what's that look across the street during the parade all about? Was that supposed to MEAN something?
7) Dave Boyle choosing to tell his wife he attacked a mugger rather than a pervert  why not just tell her the truth?
Of course in the end one could accept many of these flaws as simply a story based on realism: life is full of subtle complications, there is no black and white, coincidences do occur and even murder can be boring. But if somebody is going to make a film in this fashion then you have to give the audience something  and here it seems, the audience was just not given enough. Mr Eastwood and Mr. Penn, in the incredibly unlikely event that you should ever end up reading this please, please ensure you have a good story or screenplay to work from next time.