Directed by:
Clint EastwoodScreenplay:
Brian HelgelandCinematography:
Tom SternComposer:
Clint EastwoodCast:
Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Kevin Chapman, Tom Guiry, Emmy Rossum, Spencer Treat Clark (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Haunted by a monstrous crime, three childhood friends in Boston cross paths again decades later in connection with a murder investigation. (Netflix)
Videos (2)
Reviews (11)
It's not satisfying as a classic crime drama, but it is as a psychological drama. The film flows at the slow pace of a lazy river, there are no camera exhibitions, Clint directs artfully, giving a lot of space to actors who can show a lot of their range, and that's how I like it. Tim Robbins in particular dominates the performances, and here the Oscar is in the right hands. On the other hand, I would question the second award-winning actor, because Sean Penn, in truth, overacts in places. The intelligently written story manages to draw you in and not let go, although there are a few distracting elements, namely, the wife's strange silent phone calls to Detective Devin (played convincingly by Kevin Bacon), which have no connection to the plot and take it nowhere, and the poor symbolism in Robbins' character's reasoning – I didn't get the "vampires" (= pedophiles?) thing. Nevertheless, great satisfaction, also thanks to the unconventionally closed story. They don’t make many films like this in Hollywood today.
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Mysterious, intriguing and suspenseful! Mystic River is the best thriller driven whodunit I've ever seen. The story is perfect and the twists and turns and frequent plot changes make it much more unpredictable. Sean Penn delivers the ultimate acting performance, this guy goes instantly into my favorite actors, i love him! The rest of the cast also deserves praise for a job well done, especially the duo of detectives played by Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne. A polished, atmospheric diamond that left me almost breathless! 100%
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To criticize Eastwood is to spend the rest of my life looking nervously over my shoulder, but I've got the balls for it. Because the problem with Clint's directorial output of recent years lies mainly in the fact that he's a crappy psychologist, but would love to be one (i.e. the classic problem of all trendy psychology students, who end up psychoanalyzing their houseplants two months into their first semester, oh how many I've known). He can't seem to go deep into the characters, even though the actors help him tremendously with that. Tim Robbins' acting in particular should be watched just as a reward. Except that his monologues with cheesy metaphors (vampires, wolves) rustle the paper (or was it hustle?) and you don't believe a thing. The film's straightforward mystery storyline will please all crime fiction lovers because it's got it all and Fishburne and Bacon are likable to a fault. However, that shocking ending that the film doesn't allude to in any way beforehand squeals like a pig, no matter how well shot it is – especially the rather brutal and excellent skirmish from the unnamed characters. There's a very interesting (again, paper-rustling) scene at the end, with Penn's wife, whose relationship we've also learned quite a bit about up to this point, and will therefore cause a wrinkle on more than one forehead, and ironically it's this scene that stands out enough to clinch that fourth star, even though I still found the "traditional" bits the best part of the overall film.
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Thanks to Sean Penn's performance (and not just in the formally perfect scene of finding the victim), the film is better than it would have been without him. The crime story mixed with a heartrending drama holds up more than solidly until the finale, which unexpectedly escalates minute by minute and pulls many surprises on the viewer. Although you won't figure out until the final what that river is doing in the title, the atmosphere thus far collapses in that instant.
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A dark crime drama with a fantastically intricate plot. Clint Eastwood directs coolly, distantly, and very meticulously. Sean Penn delivers a fantastic performance and the dramaturgy of Mystic River is flawless. It is exactly the kind of film where everything falls into place at the end as it should, but at the same time it is raw, harsh, and unconventional enough to confuse even the ordinary viewer.
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