Mystic River: fat letdown

[etiolate]

Finally saw Mystic River this weekend. I watched it with other people, people I don't know the movie tasts of too well, but I kept wanting to just blurt out a little "gee this is kind of boring" every 15 minutes. The movie's writing and character development left a lot to be desired.

I think one scene sums up everything wrong: The "You're the king" speech.

Here is a shot that is beautifully lit, well shot overall, with good physical acting and physical placement... but which makes no sense in the confines of the movie, features a big old speech by a character that has been rather non-existant for 98% of the film and insults the audience by even existing within the movie.  In fact the following parade scene should have been cut as well as it is full of nonsense.

It is hours of Sean Penn overacting and various characters that never develop any relationships to care about, outside of Tim Robbin's character.  How the hell did Penn win an Oscar for this?

[drohne]

it's been a long time since i've seen this, and i didn't think much of its plotting, but i remember sean penn and laura linney being really good in it. are you talking about the scenes at the end of the movie? i thought the end was the best part -- reminded me of the end of the metamorphosis somehow, with gregor's sister 'stretch[ing] her young body'

[etiolate]

I am speaking of Linney's "you're the king" speech to Penn, followed by sex and a parade.

Wow, even recounting it sounds stupid.

[Ichirou]

I hated Mystic River.

[drohne]

whatever. that was the best part of the movie. and that sense of ordinary sensual people living on after the death of a uniquely sensitive being is sort of like the end of the metamorphosis. now i want to watch it again

[etiolate]

OUR DAWTERZ R TEH SAFE CUZ U KILLZ THOSE CLOSE 2 U!

[drohne]

i don't remember or care how the plot went

[etiolate]

Neither did the writer.

[drohne]

it kind of makes sense that the scene that clinched it for me spoiled it for you -- that's the moment it sloughs off its cliche and sentimentality and involuted plotting and gestures towards something resonant and...artistic for lack of a better word. i doubt i'd remember the movie at all if it had ended differently

[etiolate]

The sentimental shit was so overacted and overdone, that I didn't care. I didn't care about the characters or their situation. That was just another flaw of the film. I just wanted a fucking point and some consistency. It goes from friendship, to molestation, to grief, to mob movie, to cop movie, to murder, to betrayal, oh then coincidental bullshit to fill plothiles and then like 10 minutes of misogyny and finally a family parade. That's not a denouement, that is a disaster.

[etiolate]

Oh and also Lady MacBethiforgotwecastedlauralinneyohshitwebetterusehernowthatthefilmisover you're the big daddy mobster pimp daddy speech is one big fat clche as well, but the problem is it makes no sense in the film.

[Mupepe]

it kind of makes sense that the scene that clinched it for me spoiled it for you -- that's the moment it sloughs off its cliche and sentimentality and involuted plotting and gestures towards something resonant and...artistic for lack of a better word. i doubt i'd remember the movie at all if it had ended differently

I thought the same thing.  The ending is what is memorable for me.  I think it's meant to be jarring in a "wtf" way.

[Van Cruncheon]

perhaps you should watch it another one hundred times to see if you like it, etoilet

[recursivelyenumerable]

reminded me of the end of the metamorphosis somehow, with gregor's sister 'stretch[ing] her young body'

but why watch the movie when you can just reread kafka instead?

also, why doesn't kafka get shit for being emo, like salinger does?  the sober surface prose style makes it all ok?

[etiolate]

That scene is the insult.

[recursivelyenumerable]

why are we still talking about some dumb movie and not kafka?