I saw Clint Eastwood’s
Mystic River at the New York Film Festival. It was chosen to open this
year’s proceedings and, upon accepting the invitation, Warner Brothers pushed
back the release date to accommodate the honor. Needless to say this set the bar
pretty high. It also had to compete with the upcoming 21 Grams, which
also stars Sean Penn – and it’s been widely debated which film he’ll get an
Oscar nomination for.
All of that said I had a difficult time relaxing and letting it work on me. I
did like it. I just needed to mull it over. Luckily, it lingered.
Mystic River is probably the most complex narrative Eastwood has ever
worked with. He usually focuses on one lead, hero or not, but here he’s
commanding a multi-character plot.
The story follows three friends from a traumatizing childhood event – the
abduction and rape of one – to their adult years when a murder reunites them. As
adults Sean Penn plays Jimmy Markum, an ex-con who uses his local grocery store
as a front for other activities, Kevin Bacon is Sean Devine, a homicide
detective whose wife has recently left him, and Tim Robbins portrays Dave Boyle,
the grown incarnation of the violated child.
After Jimmy’s 19 year old daughter is randomly murdered, he gives Sean an
ultimatum to find the killer before he does. Slowly we learn clues to their
characters – clues that begin to disintegrate bonds formed over years. The same
night that Jimmy’s daughter is murdered, Dave returns home late covered in
blood, telling his wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) that he killed a mugger.
When no body is discovered it sends the three old friends on a collision course.
I don’t want to say more than that. When I said that the film lingered, this was
what kept playing for me – the various connections and ironic, uncontrollable
fits of revenge (one act of revenge, it can be argued, was by a dead man) that
twist around the narrative threads.
The roles are all cast with familiar faces, not unlike a Woody Allen picture.
Lawrence Fishburne plays Whitey Powers, Sean Devine’s sidekick, a role not
accustomed to such a recognizable actor. Laura Linney also appears as Jimmy’s
conniving wife.
The direction by Eastwood is restrained and concise. He’s never been one to
chase flashy visuals. The screenplay by L.A. Confidential Oscar-winner
Brian Helgeland retains the same streamlined approach he took on that script.
Adding another element of personal expression to the film is an original score
composed by Clint.
Mystic River is a picture without heroes. Everyone is equal. Good people
let bad people off the hook. Even innocent victims turn out to have blood on
their hands. When we realize at the end that one mistaken killing might
ultimately prevent the suffering of others, it’s a profoundly disquieting
moment. It’s a moment that lingers. Like much else in the film.
Grade: B+
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-Copyright 2003 by Jamie
Stuart