catch22girl | Just saw Mystic River

Saw Mystic River with

thriftygoddess today. I really wish I read the book so I could compare it a bit more - just because I *love* Dennis Lehane. However, here's my quick review.

I'm not so sure why this film has been diefied by critics. I saw it and although I appreciate the acting and writing and directing - and some of the shots are right out of Hitchcock in their odd angles and trying to motivate audience sympathy, I didn't think it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I can sort of see why critics are rushing to praise it though, I mean, it does have a lot of 'talking' for an American film. A lot of talking. This movie might have more actual moments of conversation than any other film I saw this year, except Pieces of April. It also has the same kind of emotional power, where little things add up and the audience gets sucked into the film's universe. There's some interesting plotting, an attempt at themes, and it seems to be coherently put together. In a world where Matrix: Reloaded made millions and millions of dollars, you can't really blame critics for holding up a film that has a respect for death and violence, and more than that, is actually based in characters and not special effects.

There are however problems. The entire child abuse theme, while worked into the film well, is also beaten into the audience. There is no reason for certain shots in this film, and especially the ending has a much too obvious parallel and a conversation with many levels but one that doesn't quite work. Let me put it this way, the audience got the message the first few times they saw the names in cement, they didn't need to see them again and especially not so heavy handed. There are conversations about the events of the past that almost make no sense at all and it seems that there's a kind of withholding going on, especially as characters talk in circles. There were some lovely parallels though. One of my favorites was the scene with Dave in the car at the beginning and Dave in the car at the end and how the camera movement was almost exactly the same. There's also a kind of odd Jack Daniels bottle thing happening in the film, I don't know if I'm the only one who saw that though.

The violence that does show up in the film is shocking and graphic. More than one scene had me wincing and covering my eyes. And the last scene by the river? UGH - hi, I guess I didn't really need my heart after all. The minute the film started I had a feeling that the director and writer's goal was to break my heart, and they succeeded beautifully at that. There were about thirty mintues though I would have cut from the film. It's one of those films that you know is going to hurt, but you just hope it won't be too painful.

A problem I had was with Sean Penn. Maybe it's his acting style or the fact that the director chose to include certain earlier scenes, but I found it really diffiult to watch the screen when he was on and in mourning. Actually, my natural reaction was to giggle, and I felt like a really horrible person with that instinct, but there was something either too emotionally raw or very 'this is the way a father reacts to a daughter's death' about his acting.

The movie's most obvoius problem though is its portrayal of women or lack thereof. Women are either sobbing creatures or old and quirky. The character that made the least amount of sense was Jimmmy's wife. She starts off complaining about Katie, then mourns her death and then becomes Lady Macbeth. Yes. Exactly. There's also Celeste who goes through most of the film worried about her husband's sanity and is just a wreck by the end of the film.

The most problematic character is Sean's wife Laura (Lauren?) who calls and doesn't speak. Her role is very extemporaneous and exists just to give Sean some sort of personal backstory since through the course of the film the audience learns so much about Jimmy's past and to a lesser extent, Dave. Even though we follow him closely its never clear what he does for a living or what happened to him after high school. Laura/Lauren's moment for chosing to speak however is odd and her reasons for leaving we never do understand.

The film though is about men and their relationships to each other -- that even extends into the children; the women don't interact much with their kids. This is illustrated by the very ending scene, in some ways reminiscent of Arlington Road.

Like the best Dennis Lehane stories though, the movie exists in an immoral univerese. There is no right or wrong there's just...what's been done and what needs to be done. Audience sympathy is pulled into odd places, and there's very much a sense of at least cosmic justice. I think I need to see this film again to see how certain pieces fit.

The odd thing is the last scene feels like a different film, almost like a sequel.

What did anyone else think? I'm still trying to get my mind around it. It's a recurring theme in Lehane's books, that the past is never really gone and each choice can have repercussions. Hmmm. Oh I also have to mention how the scene with Tim Robbins talking about vampires and wolves? Freaked me out.

For anyone who hasn't seen the movie - go see it - it wants to break your heart but it does so in a really fantastic matter.