nothing very mystical

Rating: 5/10 (19 June 2004)

It was my understanding going in to this film that it was a powerful, timeless classic. After all, critics lavished it with praise and it received many accolades. Personally, I can't say I'd recommend it to you dear reader. I was disappointed in the Oscar-nominated script from the always reliable Brian Helgeland, I felt like he sacrificed character building for a moody, ambiance that was already captured by the gorgeous cinematography. The script is convoluted and filled with details merely designed to confuse the viewer (see also the jumbled Conspiracy Theory for this problem) and the direction was solid, but too focused on everyone being 'tough guys'. There's this great setup of a story and a brilliant opportunity to give us a meditation of the friendship of three leads and the impact that a brutal crime can have on families. Instead, we are treated to a well-acted murder mystery where everyone method acts their asses off. In the end, Tim Robbins steals the movie and deserves his Oscar-Sean Penn (far better in 21 Grams) channels Robert DeNiro and left me saying that Bill Murray should have won the Oscar for 'Lost In Translation' .