Mystic River

Starring: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Crime
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Three childhood friends, Jimmy (Sean Penn), Dave (Tim Robbins), and Sean (Kevin Bacon) are reunited after Jimmy's daughter is murdered one night. Sean and his partner (Laurence Fishburne) investigate and as the evidence points towards Dave, Jimmy contemplates dealing with his old friend without the police.

Review:

Tim: Mystic River is one of those rare films where everything comes together perfectly and the finished product is nothing less than a masterpiece. It is an amazing character-driven drama. There are so many incredible actors here all giving career performances that it makes the movie less about story and more about performances. Luckily, the story is also powerful, moving, and gritty- too few of these films are made today.

This film features Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, and Laura Linney all just acting the hell out of their roles. Reading over the cast list, I get a shiver down my spine because it is so impressive. Sean Penn picked up the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role and Tim Robbins snagged the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his. That is pretty impressive and serves as a testiment to how amazing a performance the entire cast gives.

Clint Eastwood places himself in an elite group of directors with this film, arguably the crowning achievement of his directorial career (perhaps tied with Unforgiven). He has created a near masterpiece that became a classic the moment it first hit theatres. Over time, I believe this film will gain more and more respect and be regarded as one of the must-see classics of all time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Blood Work, 21 Grams, Absolute Power, The Woodsman, The Truth About Charlie, Unforgiven