Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece from both director and cast
Review: For a while I was worried I would never get a chance to see this movie in theatre's after hearing nothing but great stuff about it from family and friends. Then because the film was up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor to name a few, the AFI Silver Theatre in my hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland began showcasing some of Penn's early and more recent films (21 Grams was one of those films as well). Mystic River was one of these selected Penn films that were being shown and when I finally saw it I was very awe-struck and amazed that it was even better than I had heard. I found Mystic River to be an "artistic" film just like Lost In Translation. However, the difference here is that with Lost In Translation, I couldn't see what was so great about a film that in all honesty was too slow-paced and capable of putting me to sleep throughout it as well as Murray's performance in it. So when Penn won Best Actor instead of Murray I was very pleased.It's hard to pick out certain captivating performances since every single performace was worthy and equal in every way. Penn's performance like always was thoroughly gripping and gut wrenching, especially the scene with him being held down by a mob/crowd of Boston cops when he finds his daughter dead that TV spots and trailers gave most nods and kudos towards. Tim Robbins gives an equally captivating performance as the life-long, but estranged friend of Penn and Bacon who you truly don't know whether or not if he is responsible for the death of Penn's daughter - personally I felt the whole way through that he wasn't the killer, but I was wondering throughout the whole thing if it wasn't him then who else could it have been. Bacon's performance is also captivating as the detective assigned to Penn's case and torn between the loyalty he still has to his Robbins and doing his job to find the killer of Penn's daughter. Marcia Gay-Harding as the wife of Robbins is perfect as she gradually shifts from loving wife to finding herself scared of her husband for what she thinks he may have done to Penn's daughter. Fishburne's performance as Bacon's partner was so-so. The only performance I wasn't too fond of was Linney's character. Like others who told me about the movie she was a cold person, but the fact that she lacked being in a lot of scene's took away from her character's over all demeanor. I have yet to see Unforgiven, but Clint Eastwood has definitely made his place in filmmaking history by directing two movies that have both been up for Best Picture and Best Director nominations even if Mystic River lost. Eastwood keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole movie and the ending sequence when you find out who really killed Penn's daughter - don't worry I'm not giving it away for those who read this and haven't seen the movie - is shot breathtakingly well. He forces you to think throughout the entire film and then slowly fits in the remaining pieces of the puzzle for you towards the end to allow you to confirm or deny if what you were thinking about the murder of Penn's daughter was true or not. The fact that Eastwood composed the score for the film made the movie even better. I ended up leaving the theatre pondering over anything I could think of from this well crafted film. Definitely worth renting or buying (for those who have seen it in theatre's) once it's out on VHS and DVD.
Rating:
Summary: well done
Review: When i watched this movie yesterday, i didnt know what i was getting myself into. I'm so glad i watched it! This movie has a great plot and an amazing cast. Full of twists and turns that no one expects to come. The acting was so terrific that it actually seemed believable.
Rating: 
Summary: DIDN'T GET THERE!
Review: I saw this a few months ago with my movie buddie, and we both felt that Sean Penn was just terrible, completly overacting, and Tim Robbins character was just too pathetic. the movie just kept missing what it was or what it should have been trying to accomplish. It absolutely stuns me that people liked it and gave it all those awards and missed out on the the wonderfullness of "Lost in Translation" and Bill Murray's oscar winning performance. I even forgot myself and thought he was sexy for a few brief moments. anyways i dont think "mystic river" DESERVED ANYTHING.
Rating:
Summary: "Maybe someday you'll forget what it's like to be human..."
Review: "Mystic River" is, by far, one of Clint Eastwood's finest films to date. Adapted for the screen by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Payback, Blood Work) from the book of the same name by Dennis Lehane, the writers take what typically would have been a simplistic murder mystery/thriller and turned it into one of the most engrossing, fascinating, and heartbreaking films I've seen all year. Essentially, "Mystic River" is about how the past never leaves us and how the events in our past, especially in our childhood, affect us as we grow older and lastly, how grief affects people differently, in both good and bad ways. The movie follows the individual fates of three childhood friends and their families, Jimmy Marcus (Sean Penn), Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins), Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), whose lives were forever changed by a nightmarish childhood incident. The pain resulting from this incident and another that occurs to one of their children when the friends are adults is a metaphor for the river of grief (thus the title) that, unbeknownst to them all, binds each of these men together. Grief, as it always does, brings each of the men closer together, but ultimately results in tragedy for everyone involved. Hands down, this is one of the finest casts ever to be assembled on screen. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney. Wow, can it get any better than that? And it's not as if these actors are all just thrown together with no chemistry whatsoever. They all work together so well and none of the actors end up stealing the spotlight. Each actor disappears into their roles with startling ease, leaving their big Hollywood names behind and truly becoming their characters, Boston accents and all. My only problem with this film is its last act. Fore me, it simply did not live up to the high caliber artistry of the rest of the movie. I was so engrossed in this film and was expecting an ending to match it, but found myself ultimately dissatisfied with the solution the writer offered. I felt as if he'd "taken the easy way out".
Rating:
Summary: Dull Movie
Review: The storyline is boring, the acting is marginal, the plot is senseless, the directing is bad, and the cinematography is awful. I don't know why this movie got so many rave reviews. And I can't believe that Sean Penn and Tim Robbins won Oscars for their mediocore performances. I guess the competition just wasn't that tough this year. The first ten minutes of this movie led you believe that you were in for a nice suspense/thriller. But as the movie progresses, you find yourself asking "where is this movie going?", and "what the hell does the child molestation of Tim Robbin's character have to do with the murder of Sean Penn's character's daughter?". By the end of the movie, the answer to your questions are "nowhere" and "NOTHING", respectively. The storyline and plot just didn't make sense to me. Also, for all of you who have an eye for picking out "movie flaws", check out the scene at the morgue when the dead little girl is laying on the table. Look very closely and you can see her still "breathing". Clint Eastwood's directing is so terrible that he can't even get someone to CONVINCINGLY play dead for a few seconds. This flick is terribly overrated!
Rating:
Summary: Magical Powers
Review: Sean Penn discovers a River with magical powers in the water, but he learns after he drinks from it that having magical powers has its drawbacks...and consequencres...
Rating: 
Summary: Exhausting
Review: The first ten minuets of this movie was very promising, but then it seemed to lose dirction and became inconsistent. Too much was left unexplored while other parts were highlighted for no reason like " why did Sean Penn drink with Tim Robbins for so long before he asked him about his daughter?" doesn't it make more sense to ask someone something important when they are sober? also "why did Tim Robbins feel like he needed to lie about his injuries?" It didn't make any sense.
Although the cast was made up of very fine actors such as Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishborne,Kevin Bacon, and Laura Linney I don't think Clint Eastwood directed them very well, for instance, Sean Penn was very emotional in some scenes (as he should be) but stone-faced in others that are just as emotional for example when he went to the morgue to identify his daughter, up to this point he didn't know for sure if it was her who had died. Marcia Gay Harden's acting seemed very one dimentional, it would have been interesting to see Laura Linney switch roles with her. Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishbourn were very good. My biggest problem with the film was the ending, it seemed like they just threw an explanation at you and expected you to buy it even though it didn't make any sense. Not a movie for those who are logical.
Rating:
Summary: One of Eastwood's Most Impressive Achievements
Review: I have been fascinated by Eastwood's evolution as a director from Play Misty for Me (1970) through The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and Unforgiven (1992) to Mystic River. The development and refinement of his skills behind the camera are even more impressive, given the fact that he struggled as a film actor, gained some celebrity from his role as Rowdy Yates in the television series Rawhide (1959-1965), and was offered major roles in U.S. films only after starring in several "Spaghetti Westerns" (1964-1966) filmed abroad. Opinions of Mystic River are somewhat mixed. My own is that it is among Eastwood's greatest achievements as a director. The acting and cinematography are also outstanding. Sean Penn (Jimmy Markum) and Tim Robbins (Dave Boyle) received and deserved their Academy wards. I was also impressed by all of the other performances, notably those by Marcia Gay Harden (Celeste Boyle), Kevin Bacon (Sean Devine), Laurence Fishburne (Whitey Powers), and especially Laura Linney (Annabeth Markum). This is an intense film, with both menace and rage never far below the surface of mutually endured civility. All of the leading characters seem to be hauling enough "baggage" to fill a C5A cargo jet. Eastwood is considered to be a "tidy" director in that he wastes little time preparing for and then filming his scenes (usually with only one or two takes) and generously allows his actors to develop their own interpretations of the characters they portray. Through brilliant editing, he also allows the plot to develop at what seems to me to be a natural pace. He neither forces the action nor allows it to dawdle. My one issue with Mystic River is its climax, but not its conclusion which seems plausible, given prior events. (I have not read Dennis Lehane's novel on which Brian Helgeland's screenplay is based.) In any event, the revelation in the kitchen is disappointing because it seems facile and contrived. Almost perfunctory. Most of the tension in the film develops after the murder of Katie Markum and builds to that revelation. For me, the climax doesn't work. One man's opinion. That said, I think this is a great film in all other respects and look forward to seeing again.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Acting, Good Directing, But...
Review: I saw MYSTIC RIVER at a budget cinema on the afternoon just before the Oscars. It was the only one of the the Best Picture nominees I had not seen and I wanted to make the slate complete. I will say this much for the movie, it does have some good acting and some good directing. I didn't think much of Sean Penn's performance because it didn't seem all that different from a lot of other characters he has played. I did enjoy Tim Robbins' performance better, but overall felt that Kevin Bacon was the real star of this movie. He was the overlooked actor in this movie and his portrayal is far more realistic and moving than either Robbins' or Penn's. Clint Eastwood has become a very talented director and has become an expert at panning back and forth from wild angle shots to small frame ones. The film gets a bonus star for Clint's direction. With that said, there really isn't anything all that great about MYSTIC RIVER. The movie is depressing to view and moves very, very slow (I looked at my watch the first time only 30 minutes into the film). There is nothing absolutely uplifting or enduring about the picture. There is nothing comical. There is very little that is even realistic. There isn't even any message to take away. Instead, the movie is a collage/rip-off. The movie is a collage because it tries to make itself look important, containing all sort of elements of good filmmaking. It wants to be a work of art, and in some ways it is. However, it never does make the leap that it wants to from just being a movie to being a film. Instead, it flounders in all of the artistic devices of it's own being. The movie is also a rip-off because really the movie is another retelling of THE GODFATHER, but in a slightly different setting and a more modern time. I mean, the last fifteen minutes of the movie are almost taken directly from parts of THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER II. Those were good movies. This was not. Overall, MYSTIC RIVER is not a very enjoyable movie to watch. It's not a thinking film, nor is it a movie with a message. Instead, it's a collage of cinematic art and scenes ripped-off from classic American films. The acting is pretty good and so is the directing. For that, it's one star better than it should be. Other than that, though, there's not much to recommend.
Rating:
Summary: The only great movie to come out of 2003
Review: Mystic River is by far the best movie of 2003. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins were both well deserving of their oscars. To the one reviewer who said Tim Robbins performance and character was unbelievable during the interrogation scene. He was very believable. Dave was a person who was abused during his past but that doesn't mean he can't be smart. Dave was damaged person but he wasn't afraid of his own shadow. It was all very believable. The best thing about the movie is Kevin Bacon's underappreciated performance as Sean the cop investigating the murder. His performance isn't as showy as the other ones but he manages to create a character you feel for just by subtle looks and moves. Mystic River is one of the most powerful movies ever
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