Had potential, but see passed hype

Rating: Null/10 (12 February 2004)

I heard of this movie being good, and to be honest it is better than most other movies out there , that are generally overblown ie) Lord of the rings.
Coming out of this movie, one had to wonder many things :
**SPOILER**
As mentioned in many reviews below this, I agree that there was an unsatisfying ending. The directing of the scene with suddenly joining a parade, while we are left with questions and emotions of injustice, was unbearable. I kept asking myself,what was the whole point of the parade? Was it supposed to make me feel that there is a positive ending ? The audience doesn't feel like there is a reason for the injustice of Kevin Bacon doing Sean Penn a favour.
Bacon is set up as a cop who wants to do the right thing, that is the whole purpose of the patching up with his estranged wife. However, if you think about it, what was the point of his wife anyway? being silent, and obscure? It throws off the audience in thinking there is so much more to his character and his wife that meets the eye. The wife had NO impact on the story whatsoever. And shakespearean comforting wife ( Sean Penn's wife ) was OUT OF LEFT FIELD ! what can I say? That was incredibly disappointing, so much so that it was disappointing while the scene unfolded. It would have been more satisfying if Sean Penn's wife had a purpose to her action, but there is none, other than to better herself by having a strong husband.
As mentioned below, how believable and ambiguous were the two possible scene of the crime ? The first reason for the murder was possible, however the second one that Kevin Bacon explained is impossible, since it would be TOO much of a coincidence, that the brother had an issue, and that they were playing with a gun that just so happened to..
Also Robbins' wife telling the story to the person who would most likely kill Dave, instead of going straight to the cops. What can go through her mind ? ( I hope he will just talk to Dave and resolve the issue , and not blow his brains out , and I love him thats why im arousing suspicion and basically signing his death warrant! )
Only because Penn gives an oscar performance, was the pain believable. However, setting the tone with a scene with father/daughter for 3 minutes is not enough to make the audience feel sympathetic toward the character. Simply put, it could have been done a lot better, and that is one of the major things that lacks in this movie.
I felt this movie was good, because there arent any other good movies out lately. Also, I just wanted to point out the flaws of the movie because most people only base movies on emotions, and not direction or story telling. Bottom line is that if the script was patched up, and the directing of the ending redone, this would have definitely been one of the more memorable movies for me.