Boston is Boston

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2017)

An intense film founded on the slow character and plot development of the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, Clint Eastwood and the cast convey an emotional depth rarely seen in cinema. The mystery film concerns itself more with the inner depths and mysterious developments of the small community, reflected in the Mystic River, rather than the large overarching case that catalyzes the ensuing events. This is what makes the cinematic masterpiece so beautiful. Each character, each event, each scene, and each tiny detail exist for a reason, paralleling the enormous themes of the film. Mystic River is bigger than the movie itself; it conveys meaning directly to the viewer with vivid emotion.
Eastwood works to slowly build his film from the bottom up with carefully constructed tiers: plot, character, time-line, etc. Masterfully inserted flashbacks effectively connect the past to the present in a community where the present is the past. But the powerful performances from the entirety of the cast finish Eastwood's emotional drama. Sean Penn and Laura Linney form the powerful duo of a hurt couple full of love, hope, and purpose. Penn, Robbins, and Bacon make up the childhood trio tied together by an unforgettable past; an emotion seen in the atmosphere of their scenes together. And Penn and Robbins deliver spectacularly in their awkward, suspenseful, misinterpreted, fateful scenes together that shape the entirety of the film and the relationships of the characters in it.
Helgeland masterfully adapted Lehane's immense novel into a brief two hours of intensity. The majority of the novel's theme, characterization, and nuance were transferred into the film through dialogue and acting. The characters came alive and the actors became the characters. The fateful story playing out in the piece transcended the screen, taking refuge in the rivers of reality, slowly washing over and then, breaking wave after wave on the viewer.
Mystic River is a cinematic masterpiece to be remembered for centuries. It provides a piercing view into community, fate, love, and the effect of the past. It makes simple statements engulfed in reality to create an artistic perfection. The final product is art; the post-production was art; the filming was art; the development was art. And it simply says that fate is fate and Boston is Boston.