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Ron Miller's DARK CORRIDORS VOL. 4, No. 39 |
CLINT EASTWOOD'S 'MYSTIC RIVER' |
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 Police Detective Kevin Bacon with ex-con Sean Penn |
Eastwood turns Lehane's
noir novel into film classic
By RON MILLER
of TheColumnists.com
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For all those who suspected Clint Eastwood's masterful 1992 western "Unforgiven" was some kind of fluke, there is now absolutely no way even the most cynical of critics can deny the obvious fact that this aging action hero is now one of the cinema's most skilled and forceful film directors. The reason is "Mystic River," Eastwood's new film--already a solid favorite to clean up bigtime at the Oscars next February. It's a mature work of art--a haunting film that brings Dennis Lahane's dark, disturbing novel about the hovering presence of psychological guilt to the screen intact with all its powerful messages. Eastwood produced and directed "Mystic River"--he even composed the musical score--but does not act in it. His firm, but sensitive hand is evident throughout this emotionally harrowing movie. And, most impressive of all, the man who once was dismissed as a "wooden" actor of action flicks clearly has drawn the best-ever performances from a cast of magnificent contemporary actors, including Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden. Lehane's acclaimed novel is about the heavy, life-altering impact of a single event in the childhood of three neighborhood friends. While scratching their names in the wet concrete of a new section of sidewalk one day, the three boys are approached by a man showing a badge. He demands that one of the boys get into his car, where another man waits. The boy's two pals stand by and watch as the "policemen" take him away. We don't see what happens to "Dave," but we know those aren't cops, but rather sexual predators. After several days of abuse, Dave escapes from the cellar where he's being held and makes his way home. Though Dave has nightmares to repress, his pals share overwhelming feelings of guilt. Could they have done something to stop the men from taking Dave? What would have happened if they all had climbed into that back seat that day? The film is about the legacy of that day. Dave (Tim Robbins) has coped with the trauma--or so it seems. After becoming a high school baseball star, he has married and fathered a son and is well into what appears to be a normal family life in the Boston area. But the circle of friendship with his boyhood chums was broken by what happened to Dave. He has not seen Sean (Kevin Bacon) nor Jimmy (Sean Penn) socially since he returned to school after the kidnapping. Meanwhile, Jimmy, always the trouble-seeker of the three, has been to prison for theft and now runs a neighborhood convenience store. He had a daughter by his first wife, who died while he was doing his time, and now lives with his 19-year-old daughter, his second wife (Laura Linney) and their young children. Sean (Kevin Bacon), who became a policeman, is now suffering through the breakup of his own marriage. The lives of these three intertwine once more when Jimmy's beautiful 19-year-old daughter is brutally murdered. Early in the morning, before the girl's body was found, Dave came home from a night out at his favorite bar, covered with blood. He tells his wife, Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden), that he fought off a mugger and may have killed the man. Ultimately, Celeste suspects Dave's story is a lie and that he may be the killer of Jimmy's daughter. Jimmy is devastated by the murder and vows to avenge his daughter. Sean winds up being one of the detectives assigned to the murder investigation. Lehane's story doesn't just follow the steps in the investigation, which slowly brings out the truth about what happened the night of the girl's murder. It also follows the precipitous emotional breakdown of both Jimmy and Dave as they struggle to hold together the lives they've built over the years. Sean, who's being pulled apart by his own marital stress, finds himself in the middle. Lehane's story has lots of twists and turns. The past weighs heavily on the present because it's about how much our actions affect our future lives--and the lives of others. Eastwood handles this by adopting a very even tone for the film, directing in a measured style that enhances the feeling of reality and lets the drama and suspense develop naturally. His subtle musical score dovetails perfectly with this approach. Though the film is long, it never bogs down and he has you in the palm of his hand when the final events begin to shake you up. Eastwood also guides his fine cast in such a manner. Though some of the scenes might easily have gotten out of hand, not one of these actors ever goes over the top. Even a gruelling sequence at the crime scene, where Penn fights with police trying to keep him away from his daughter's dead body, does not go too far. Penn's agony is loud and angry, but the effect on the viewer is a cold, chilling feeling. Penn is an actor some people don't like because they may not like his pugnacious look and outrageous behavior in the past. This performance may change all that forever. He is breathtakingly good. This is a marvelously finished actor, fully capable of reaching down inside himself to find ever-new resources. This is a monumental piece of acting. Laura Linney, who has always been on the cusp of greatness, finally gets there with her strong, incisive performance as Penn's wife. She steps way up for this picture--just as all the principals have done. Tim Robbins has never had a part as challenging as Dave Boyle, a man being eaten alive by his inner demons. This, too, is a megawatt performance. And Kevin Bacon successfully buries all his usual leading man tricks, once again reminding us what a rich and deep talent he has--and how seldom he gets the chance to show us what he really can do. Marcia Gay Harden, who's playing a woman coming apart before our eyes, continues to show she's one of the very best people working in pictures today. As good as all these actors are in "Mystic River," this is clearly Eastwood's picture. Some might have thought his Oscar-winning "Unforgiven" was too familiar territory for the man who started out on TV's "Rawhide" nearly half a century ago. You might have said he was a sentimental favorite that year, doing a competent job with a lesser work. I don't happen to think that, but I can imagine others doing so. But "Mystic River" is an intelligent, thoughtful film with something very serious to say and Clint Eastwood has done such a spectacular job with it that it represents his own personal life achievement award--a film for the ages that assures its director his place among the giants of cinema history. |
©2003 by Ron Miller.
The Ron Miller caricature is ©2001 by Jim Hummel. The photos
are courtesy of Warner Bros. and Malpaso Productions.
Ron
Miller is a former nationally syndicated television columnist
and the author of "Mystery! A Celebration," the official
companion book to PBS' "Mystery!" series. He currently
teaches classes in mystery and related topics at Whatcom Community
College and Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.
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