Mystic River (2003)
Some traumas can’t be washed clean.
Presentation:
Clint Eastwood is great at telling stories, he’s just not good at fleshing them out. This film is a perfect example of that. More thematically ambitious and substantial than his other films, he executes it with compelling pacing but the pieces don’t fit together. Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon are great, but Tim Robbins is obnoxiously frustrating. Just like in The Shawshank Redemption, a lot of conflicts could have been easily avoided but he clams up for the sake of a dramatic reveal. The detective aspects are good but it’s really hard to look past the integration of character development, which feels arbitrary and awkward.
Story:
Is the film about trauma or solving a murder? They really don't have anything to do with each other besides causing dramatic conflict. The reveal of the culprit was also extremely underwhelming and random.
Conclusion:
Clint Eastwoods executes, but the elements of the story are too disjointed. The themes and elements don’t really have anything to do with each other and end up detracting from the film as a whole. With other films like Million Dollar Baby these inconsistencies can be overlooked, but this film takes itself a lot more seriously so it naturally requires to be viewed from a more serious lens. Still one of the better whodunits with a memorable ending.
Recommendations
Microphones are a conspiracist’s best friend.