In “Mystic River”, Clint Eastwood brings us a sobering and dreary film about crime and all the elements surrounding it. Based on the novel by Dennis Leh ane, the movie treads a suspense-filled and deeply intuitive path that is both entirely encapsulating at times and too slow at others. Eastwood has crafted a very hard movie to sit through, with its very limited comedic relief and depressingly dark atmosphere. Although at times overly manipulative with coincidence, and awfully boring; “Mystic River” strides past its shortcomings with its astounding acting, powerful story, and deeply felt atmosphere. The story begins with a group of three friends playing hockey in the street.
While carving their names into some newly paved cement, two men pull up. One presents himself as a police officer and abducts one of the boys. The boy, Dave, is then kidnapped by these child molesters and tortured for days until he escapes. The event forever changes the lives of the three friends.
Now, in the present, the friends have grown apart. Jimmy (Sean Penn), and ex-con, runs a corner store and has a family; Sean (Kevin Bacon) is a homicide detective with an estranged wife who calls him and says nothing, and Dave (Tim Robbins) who is a handy man with a small family. The three men’s lives are brought back together when Jimmy’s nineteen year old daughter Katie is murdered and Sean is the detective put on the case. Dave is a suspect in the case as well as many others including Katie’s secret boyfriend. As boring as this sounds, the story is really mostly psychological and has you guessing the killer until the end. The acting by Penn, Bacon, and Robbins is some of the most impressive acting this year.
The Term Paper on Nineteenth Century Story Frankenstein Man
I have been given the task of comparing three stories of suspense in three different styles of writing. During this essay I will discuss the way each story is written, how and why certain effects are achieved and what elements contribute to the mood and suspense of the story. Finally, I will conclude as to which story I have found the most successful. An important thing to look at when studying a ...
Penn’s character portrays grief so well you can feel it. When finding out about his dead daughter he falls to ground with a crowd of policemen around him restraining him while he screams unintelligible words. Bacon’s character is incredibly inwardly sad because of the absence of his wife. The most profound of them all, though, is Robbins character who dwells on his misfortune by watching vampire movies while drawing metaphors between himself and the vampires and by telling his kid bedtime stories that obviously represent his molestation. While the movie centers around the grief and need for retribution due to death, there is another sub-theme that is deeply explored. That is the relationship between husband and wife and the difference between a good and bad wife.
Penn’s wife, Linney, is scene as the good wife in that she responds to her husbands violence with understanding. Robbin’s wife, Celeste, is seen as the bad wife because of her doubt and betrayal of her husband. Linney is fiercely loyal, while Celeste is not because she has been shut out by her husband. Eastwood’s direction of the film is a departure from the norm. His cuts are very slow. He seems to be more concerned with the acting than with flashy scenes.
This is a very good thing. Although at times this direction become awkwardly slow, as in the beginning scene, it gives the audience time to think the events over in a sort of “2001: A Space Odyssey” way. This really is not a movie I would suggest to see. Although it is a great film with great acting, I don’t think most people in our high school would find it entertaining, but rather a very boring waste of 137 minutes. “Mystic River”, while boring at times and very depressing, is really a good movie with very strong acting and deeply felt themes of grief and retribution.
The Essay on What makes a good movie good?
I admire movies and cannot live without them. Some movies taught me important principles in my life, some created memories that will never get erased and some made me laugh so hard till I cried; that is why I love movies. However, there are several movies that I watched, but I do not remember their story at all. For a movie to affect me and stay in my memory, it should include three important ...
