just a tedious and a dreary affair that I couldn't wait to see end

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2003)

"Mystic River" has the foundations for both a tragedy and a mystery, but instead the film is directed like a comedy. The only fun in this plodding production is trying to figure out who gives the worst performance. Is it Sean Penn, complete with gnashing teeth and tightly flexed biceps, doing a second-rate Kirk Douglas? Or is it Laurence Fishburne, who does such a killer Lou Rawls-style self-assured turn that he literally glides through his scenes? Or is it Marcia Gay Harden, whose gaping mouth and wide eye stare recall a fish on ice? There wasn't any real emotional substance to this film, whatsoever. They did a fine impression of relating disturbing incidents but it just seemed hallow to me. This entire feature was just a tedious and a dreary affair that I couldn't wait to see end