Did you guys like Mystic River?

Rob Babcock · « **on:** 1 Jul 2004, 12:56 am »

I saw this one in the theater, and last nite I went back & reread the glowing reviews. Still, I just didn't really think it was anything special. Sure, Penn is good- but he plays the same character as he has in practically every film I've seen him in (and I count myself as a fan). Tim Robbins is very good, but essentially I just wasn't much moved by the film. The characters aren't really likeable enough to root for, and not really interesting enough to fascinate me.

Maybe I went in expecting too much (I saw it shortly after Penn won his Oscar for Best Actor), but to me it just seemed average. Not bad, but I really don't think I'll bother to buy the DVD.

Does anyone here see it differently?

Carlman · « **Reply #1 on:** 1 Jul 2004, 01:54 am »

I came away with the same reaction however, I had no idea that it was 'supposed' to be good... Had I known I would've been disappointed but since I didn't, it seemed like another 2 or 2.5 star movie destined for cable movie channels.

Overall, it was pretty predictable and the story was easy to follow. I found Tim Robbins' character either poorly acted or poorly written. He tried in his own way to make the character real but his interpretation was different than what mine would've been. His lack of communication was just annoying... had the part been played better, I think that character's actions would've made more sense.

It seemed like the whole story was a spin-off of something else.

I wish there were more good stories out there... I haven't seen a movie better than Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter in a long time. These are good times. However, nestled between them is loads of real junk that'll be forgotten a month from now.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #2 on:** 1 Jul 2004, 02:02 am »

Hmmm...I'm not sure what you didn't like about Robbins' performance. Not only did I think he was amazing, he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role!

I agree though that the story was fairly predictable, and though I did think it was okay, by the end I just really didn't care a lot about the characters.

I'll agree with your rating- I'd give it maybe a 2.5 out of 4 stars. And I think LotR: RotK richly deserved the Oscar it won for Best Picture.

After seeing "Mystic River," though, I really wish that Depp or Murray would've won Best Actor.

Carlman · « **Reply #3 on:** 1 Jul 2004, 02:10 am »

In that case, maybe Robbins did a tremendous job with a poorly written character.....

The silent bit always annoys me, though. But generally, that's a sign of fear and he didn't seem fearful so much as mentally challenged. Which was it? Was he retarded or afraid? That was the problem I had with the character. It wasn't clear why he was quiet.

As someone who posts a million times, I don't always get the quiet bit.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 1 Jul 2004, 02:15 am »

I guess my take was that he was "damaged goods." Presumably the sexual abuse he suffered as a child left him permanently scarred and disfunctional. Childhood abuse very often profoundly alters a personal whole personality and affects them for the rest of their life, and I thought he did a good job of portraying a man that just can't quite figured out how his life ended up so broken. Certainly the script is minimalist, implying far more than it says.

Again, I didn't hate it, I just didn't think it measured up to my lofty expectations of it.

As for the million posts, I guess I don't get the "quiet bit" either!