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Created Aug 19, 2011 10:57PM PST • Edited Aug 19, 2011 10:57PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Perfect 5.0

   One night while enjoying some television with the family, I was reading an Entertainment Weekly article about films that take place in Boston. These films included The Departed, Good Will Hunting, The Town, Gone Baby Gone, and Mystic River. As one could probably tell, movies that take place in Boston happen to have the fortune of being very good. As I read these off to my father (a fellow film fan), he appropriately labeled Clint Eastwood’s 2003 Academy Award-winning adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River “Perfect Everything.” I could not agree more.

   Mystic River follows the lives of three grown friends: Jimmy (Sean Penn), Sean (Kevin Bacon), and Dave (Tim Robbins). As children, Dave was kidnapped by two child molesters as Sean and Jimmy watched helplessly as their friend was taken away. Years later, the three have drifted apart and live separate lives: Dave, an empty shell of a man, Jimmy, an ex-con running a local market, and Sean, a detective living with the fact that he drove his pregnant wife away. The three are brought together again by tragedy when Jimmy’s beloved daughter is murdered, and Dave happens to be one of the prime suspects.

   At the heart of Mystic River are the powerhouse performances by leads and the supporting cast, particularly Penn and Robbins. Penn’s Jimmy is an angry and vengeful, but still emotionally compelling as we feel the pain he feels for his daughter as we also understand his quest to find her killers. Penn ranks up there with the De Niros and the Pacinos of contemporary cinema, and this is no exception. While Robbins has always been a great actor (examples: Bull Durham, Shawshank, Bob Roberts, The Player, etc.), I don’t believe he’s ever given a performance quite like this one. The audience feels the tragedy in the character of Dave and what he goes through in his life, as he still has not come to terms with what happened to him. Both actors give powerhouse performances that made their Oscar wins all the more deserving.

   Aside from those tour de force performances, Kevin Bacon gives an underrated performance as Sean, a character who, while not entirely on the outside, is just as conflicted as Dave and Jimmy. Laurence Fishburne also gives a witty and energetic performance as Sean’s partner Whitey Powers. Fishburne’s always been a great character actor along the lines of Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel. I’ve never been a big Marcia Gay Harden fan (don’t know why, never have been), but she amazed me in this film. She brilliantly portrays Dave’s wife Celeste, a woman who’s belief in the possibility of her husband’s crime and the other side of the story coincide. Laura Linney also proves strong as Jimmy’s supportive wife who’s monologue at the end shapes Jimmy’s character.

   The film is shot in a style that has been sononomous with most modern Clint Eastwood films. Like modern Eastwood fair such as Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, and Gran Torino, it’s very bleak and very dark, perfectly suiting the tone of the film. Each scene is shot with intensity, emotion, and suspense that keeps you at the edge of your seat. The situations between the characters are shot and executed perfectly. Try watching the “I can’t even cry for her” scene and tell me that didn’t leave you tears. The bleakness of the film is consistant all the way through to the end.

   From beginning to end, Mystic River is an emotional triumph of modern filmmaking. Perfect acting. Perfect script. Perfect film. As my father would say, “Perfect everything.”

4. Acting

   Perfect 5.0

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Perfect 5.0

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

12. Play Perfect 5.0

13. Music Perfect 5.0

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.0

17. Sex Titillating 2.2

18. Violence Savage 3.6

19. Rudeness Profane 3.1

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0