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Review by Susan Granger
3½ stars out of 4
Clint Eastwood's new thriller is, basically, a character study, revolving
around three youths - Jimmy, Sean and Dave - who grew up in East Buckingham, a
working-class neighborhood near Boston. When they were 11 years-olds, playing
in the street, two pedophiles, posing as policemen, kidnapped Dave, seemingly
the most vulnerable, forcing him into their car. His physical molestation and
psychological torture haunts all three for the rest of their lives.
Their paths converge again 25 years later. Now Jimmy (Sean Penn) has a
corner grocery store in the old neighborhood. He's an ex-con-gone-straight
who's devoted to his wife (Laura Linney) and three daughters. Dave (Tim
Robbins) has a wife (Marcia Gay Harden) and young son. And Sean (Kevin Bacon)
is a homicide detective whose wife has inexplicably run off. Fate brings them
together when Jimmy's oldest daughter (Emmy Rossum) is found beaten to death in
a park.
Look for an Oscar nomination for Sean Penn whose intense performance is
ferocious yet tinged with the subtle shadings of a watercolor. Tim Robbins
delivers a richly detailed and affecting characterization of a secretive,
dysfunctional man, while Kevin Bacon exudes a riveting screen presence as a cop
doing his duty. In her own quiet way, Laura Linney is strong and surprisingly
compelling, and Marcia Gay Harden is captures a tormented woman's heartbreaking
desperation. As director, Clint Eastwood once again displays an astonishing
visual sense and Brian Helgeland renders Dennis Lehane's novel into a
provocative screenplay. Problem is: it's too obvious whodunit. That's a big
blunder. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Mystic River" is a tense,
Copyright © 2003 Susan Granger
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