Mystic River

[Ernie]

I don't know if I've seen any of Clint Eastwood's 'directed' films.

Start with "Unforgiven".

Don't you dare overlook A Perfect World though, I've always thought it was better than Unforgiven myself. And I like Unforgiven. I can't usually stand Kevin Costner either so take my word for it. This and JFK are the only two times he's been truly good and not just jerking off.

Can't wait for this one. I'll admit that I was planning on waiting for DVD until I saw the cast awhile ago and then trailer (wow!) at Matchstick Men...now I'll be there opening night. Sean Penn needs a comeback after I Am Sam. Tim Robbins is just always so comforting to watch in whatever he's in, I can't really explain it...it's just his presence I guess. It's resonating from Shawshank. Even in Short Cuts, which he was a bastard in...I loved him all the same. The Player rocks too. Tapeheads is a forgotten (or maybe never known) gem. He absolutely made High Fidelity a better movie with a role as small as he had alone. He's a great great great actor.

[NEON MERCURY]

yeah this film is really starting to grow a big buzz on me ....

so its:
1.0 21 grams
2.0  return of the king
3.0  mystic river
4.0  gothika

[modage]

kill bill?

[NEON MERCURY]

kill bill?

...ohh yeah and that one also......

[SHAFTR]

I blindly bought Unforgiven a few weeks ago and watched it for the first time, blew my mind.  Perfect World left a huge impression on me when I saw it when it came out (I had to be like 10-11).  I haven't seen Perfect World since than but I have been meaning too.

I'm very excited for this film.

Eastwood as auteur, yes or no???

[MacGuffin]

Eastwood runs the best sets. There is no yelling, no calls for 'Quiet!', etc. It's very serene. When he calls for 'Action', he simply says, "Go." That's it. "Cut" is "That's was fine." He generally just does one take and moves on. Eats with the crew at the tables, not in his trailer. And there are no long hours either. He's worked with the same people for so long that it's all second nature for the crew.

[picolas]

when'd you work with him, Mac?

[Jeremy Blackman]

But... Marcia Gay Harden? ...  

[Fernando]

Clint Eastwood will be this sunday (october 5th) in the Bravo show 'Inside the Actors Studio'.

[Holden Pike]

Saw Mystic River on Friday, opening night of the New York Film Festival. I'm a huge, unabashed Clint fan, and while this is a good, earnest effort, it doesn't belong among the ranks of his very best works (Unforgiven, A Perfect World, Bird). Certainly not a dud either, but not the masterpiece many of the critics seem to be excited about for some reason.

Without getting into spoilers, I think the material just doesn't quite gel with Eastwood's style and strengths as a filmmaker. The themes are definitely Eastwoodian, but the script tries to be a little too Operatic at times, too melodramatic in nature, and too much of the dialogue is obviously literary, I'd guess either transferred from interior monolgue to spoken dialogue in script stage, or simply the kind of language that works in a novel but not on film (I haven't read Lehane's book yet). There were too many scenes where you could sense Clint as an actor would have cut bunches of lines, gone to a more minimalstic, realistic style.

But not to say that the movie isn't good or there aren't moments that work very well. The movie it's probably most similar to is Barry Levinson's Sleepers, which I think worked much less than Mystic River. The opening set-up of the movie feels a bit rushed, and the kid who plays the Sean Penn character as a boy is a pretty lously little "kid" actor, distractingly so for me - which is odd since Clint has gotten such wonderful, natural performances from tykes before, from his own kids in Honkytonk Man, True Crime and Tightrope, to most especially the knock-out work by T.J. Lowther in A Perfect World. Also the CODA is totally unnecessary. The film has a natural ending that would have been pretty powerful (two of the characters alone in the street), but then adds on a whole five minutes or so that simply don't need to be there (especially Laura Linney's Lady MacBeth speech out of nowhere).

Penn and Robbins are strong as usual (the scene of them together on the porch fairly early on is good, subtle stuff between two very good actors), Marcia Gay Harden does the best emoting in a difficult lynchpin role, but it's Kevin Bacon who really does the best work overall. Larry Fishburn too, who is with Bacon in many scenes, providing most of the comic relief.

I'll add specifics of what I did and didn't like after more of you get a chance to see it starting next week, and while I'd surely recommend it, I'd also warn not to go in with expectations of a masterpiece. It is a good movie, but not a great one.


Grade: B


BTW, Clint, novelist Dennis Lehane, screenwriter Brian Helgeland and actors Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden, Robbins and Penn were at the premiere. This was Clint's first NYFFestival entry since the still underrated Bird back in 1988 (how did that not win a bag full of Oscars? Read William Goldman's book to find out why it didn't do even better than it did at Cannes). Eastwood spoke a bit before the movie and introduced everyone as they came on stage, and they all appreciatingly accepted the ovation afterward.

[modage]

i saw this one tonite, and i pretty much agree with holdens review.  dont expect it to blow minds, but go see it.

[TheVoiceOfNick]

This movie is better than Mystic Pizza...

[Finn]

Just got back from it, great movie! very strong performances, many powerful moments, easily one of Eastwood's best. Maybe the only down-side is that the movie is a little too slow, but we're gripped from start to finish.

[godardian]

I'm glad to see a few muted reactions here; they're similar to mine.  A capsule review I wrote:

"This Clint Eastwood-directed murder mystery is more somber and intense than most- it's a whodunit with the shattering personal dimensions left in. Eastwood does well by the actors, including Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburn, Laura Linney, and Marcia Gay Harden (Sean Penn is a little too Method for this film; his "thing" works better in the upcoming 21 Grams).  If Mystic River is not quite the powerhouse many critics are promising, it's still a fine example of solid, confident storytelling."

[Ghostboy]

I really liked it a lot. It succeeded largely where I thought In The Bedroom Failed, in that the actions of the characters were earned by the development given to them in the script. They felt like real people, and the choices they made felt true to me. I loved every performance -- not a false note, I thought, except for a fully coincidental moments towards the very end (the phone call from Bacon's wife was a little too timely). I'll single out Marcia Gay Harden, since no one else is. Also, the turn Laura Linney takes in her one big scene was chilling --  I totally forgot that it was her in the role.