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'Mystic River' shows that Clint Eastwood is one of the finest American directors, who has defied the rules when it comes to actors who decide to get behind the camera, and usually churn out a success (Like Robert Redford and Kevin Costner), and then produce nothing else of equal value, if anything else at all. Woody Allen is a notable exception, and Robert De Niro seems to becoming one. 'Mystic River' is a riveting murder mystery, but it is also a character drama of the highest order, filled with emotional intensity. The story centers on three men, friends as children, but they have drifted apart as adults, but all share a painful memory of a traumatic event, one of them, Dave (Robbins), was abducted by a pedophile pretending to be a cop and held captive for four days, before escaping. He has never forgotten this, and Jimmy (Penn) and Sean (Bacon) have not forgotten watching him being taken away. Now, Dave, soft-spoken and distant, is married, to Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden), who gets very suspicious when he comes home one night covered in blood, claiming to have killed a mugger. She checks the paper every day to see if it has been reported, but finds nothing. Jimmy is married to Annabeth (Linney), and has three daughters, the oldest being Katie (Emmy Rossum), whom he had with his first wife. Jimmy is an ex-con who now runs a corner market, and tries to forget his past. Sean is a detective, whose estranged wife calls every day but never talks to him. Katie is murdered. Sean and his partner Whitey (Fishburne) investigate. Jimmy is a wreck, with powerful scenes of grief and anger showcasing Sean Penn's sensational, raw, and hard-hitting Oscar-winning performance. Dave is a suspect; he saw Katie and her friends at a local bar the night she was killed, and seems mentally unbalanced, and Celeste is afraid of him. Also suspected is Katie's secret boyfriend, Brendan (Tom Guiry), whose criminal father was an old acquaintance of Jimmy's, who harbors a deep resentment for the kid. Assumptions are made, conclusions are drawn, surprises revealed, as the case is solved, slowly and methodically, in what amounts to a superb police procedural, and a stirring condemnation of vengeance and lynch mob mentality. Tim Robbins won an Oscar, as well, for his role as Dave, still scarred from his childhood experience. Dave fails to express emotion, which makes him look cold, but we see a loving father and husband, and a man desperate to save others from sexual exploitation, a mission which consumes him and leads to an act of violence he certainly regrets. Bacon is fantastic, as well, playing low-key as the cop who tries to stay detached from every situation, but inevitably is troubled by personal matters, involving his wife, and his feelings for Dave and Jimmy. When required, he gets beneath the surface and shows us Sean's inner complexities and turmoil. And Eastwood picked a spectacular supporting cast, especially Harden and Linney. Brian Helgeland creates an intelligent, insightful screenplay, adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane, and coupled with wonderful acting and Eastwood's assured direction, 'Mystic River' is a real treat, and resonates with you after you have seen it. email this review to a friend
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