about
You're reading a really old version of matt-thornton's website. For example, if you're looking at the movie reviews... you'll notice that none of them are of recent films. Indeed, I leave them here for posterity's sake, but I doubt very much that they'll get updated anytime soon. So have a giggle.
You might, if you're lucky, find something recent from Matt at his blog matt's debates. Kernow bys vyken.
Mystic River
the one line review:
three blokes fishin it ain't
the overview
I somehow managed to end up with a Clint-fest recently... I had Million Dollar Baby, The Good The Bad & The Ugly and this. All involved with Clint in some way. This, he was directing, but not starring in, and won some Oscar's or something. It'll teach me to read the description a bit better before renting.
the plot:
Three friends, Jimmy, Sean and Dave are playing on a street, when a fella pretending to be a cop takes Dave away in his car, molests him for 4 days, before he escapes. Some year's later, the three friends have drifted apart, Jimmy (Penn) is now a ex-con father of three, Sean (Bacon) is a homicide detective for the FBI (with Lawrence Fishburne in tow as his good cop/bad cop partner) and Dave (Robbins) is married with a young kid, but obviously a bit fucked in the head from his ordeal all those years ago. Then Jimmy's teenage daughter gets murdered, and Sean is on the case to find out whodunnit. (Is it Dave? Why does he have cut hands? And blood in his car? Keep watching to find out. Yawn.)
the verdict:
It's not bad, it's perfectly watchable, it starts at the beginning and then eventually drags it's sorry ass to end. It's about 20 minutes too long, as after we find out whoactuallydunnit, they should have just stopped the film there. Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon give typically robust performances, Tim Robbins is looking old now, but does pretty well in it.
The problem with this film is simply that it's trying to be a moral thing, about life and retribution and appreciating what you have and making the most of things (and the events of the story are moreorless inconsequential). But it doesn't work. The theme isn't strong enough, and you aren't left feeling better about yourself and thinking you'll make some changes.
Worth a look, for sure, but you'll probably end up wishing you'd gone fishing instead.
All movie reviews
