jawnbc | On Mystic River

querrelle and I wanted to catch a fil-um last night, and early show. Mardi Gras starts in earnest this week, and with all the Bear stuff on the go, this would be perhaps our only chance for some quiet time. After considering our choices, we picked Mystic River. I went to get the tickets while

querrelle was at work (in case of post-Oscar rush), and we settled in.

In general it’s a good film, though not a great one. I’ve not seen a Clint Eastwood fil-um before, and while he’s a competent director, I wouldn’t call his work terribly artistic: some interesting shots, but rather straightforward style. Maybe just not my cuppa. But this is an actor’s movie, and most of the performances are quite strong. Tim Robbins owns the film, though Marcia Gay Harden is up there as well. Sean Penn is quite good, but he’s often too intense for the medium: but who else could’ve played the role? Laura Linney and Laurence Fishburne are also excellent, and I loved Eli Wallach’s cameo.

Perhaps it’s greatest strength however, is its authenticity. While I’m not from Boston, the ethos and ruling relations here greatly mirrored my own upbringing in working class Irish New York. For better (community, taking care of one’s own) and worse (narrow-mindedness, prejudice). The three key male players--one who got out (Kevin Bacon), one who stayed to rule the roost (Penn), one who had no where else to go (Robbins) very much resonated with me. Guess which one I most identified with?

I very much appreciated how the local knowledges of the neighbourhood, as well as the practices of “mainstream” society (vis à vis policing) weren’t overly simplified or parodied. The ambiguities and tensions reamined intact.

A good fil-um