This film perplexes me. The hype is high and it may not have lived up to my expectations. Every year there is a critical sensation that just doesn’t blow me away like all the reviews say it will. Maybe over time, this film will resonate more, once it’s distanced from the hype. But that's not to say I didn't like the film, which is fueled by powerful performances and a harrowing crime story.
The story deals with how tragedy often reaches from our pasts and taints our futures. Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) was abducted when he was an adolescent as his friends Sean (Kevin Bacon, FLATLINERS) and Jimmy (Sean Penn, DEAD MAN WALKING) watched. Over the years, the three friends grew apart. Jimmy went to prison and has been married twice. His daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum, SONGCATCHER), with his first wife, is the love of his life. His new wife, Annabeth (Laura Linney, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME), complains that he needs to remember that he has two other daughters. Dave is plagued by what happened to him, unable to reconcile it in his mind. Sean has become a homicide cop and is estranged from his wife who calls him but doesn’t speak.
Katie is murdered and that same night Dave comes home at 3 a.m. bloody. His wife, Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden, POLLACK), is scared and uncertain about her husband’s story of beating a mugger. Sean and his partner Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne, WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?) are assigned Katie’s case.
First and foremost, what makes the film great is the acting. Penn is stellar as usual. Robbins puts forth the best performance of his career. Bacon also delivers one of his best performances as well. The supporting cast also shines, especially Harden. Tom Guiry (BLACK HAWK DOWN), as Katie’s secret boyfriend Brendan, also puts forth a standout performance.
Clint Eastwood is at top form as the director. The shot composition when Jimmy and Dave talk on the porch at Katie’s wake is wonderful. The story is compelling and I cared about finding out who killed Katie. It keeps one guessing. However, there were some contrived moments that I couldn’t get past. Why is Sean not forced off the case when it is known that he knows the people involved? There’s a scene when the cops turn up right at the correct moment that had me rolling my eyes. Those minor quibbles and the fact that the story didn’t challenge me or make me think in a new way or witness a screen idea that I haven’t seen before makes the resonance of the over all film less. Maybe it will hit me harder on a second viewing. That sometimes happens and sometimes it doesn’t.
I liked how Jimmy doubts Dave, but Sean holds out hope. I like how past sins and tragedies affect both Jimmy and Dave. I liked how the wives were affected and react to the emotional problems of their husbands. I really look forward to seeing this film again. I recommend it for everyone to see. It’s a complex and subtle film that I think will reveal more once you can distance yourself from the whodunit plot that locks your attention upon the first viewing.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
