Something I Like

As those who read this blog regularly know very well, I hate a lot. I try to hate with style and with wit, but I really do despise a lot of people and things. So I thought I'd break the pattern by writing about something I actually like.

I just watched my DVD of Mystic River, and it knocked me out all over again. Very few filmmakers handle old wounds as well as Clint Eastwood does, and the performances he got from Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon transported me to wonderful, terrible places. Brian Hegeland's script built a Boston neighborhood that felt lived-in, and successfully imported the feeling of density that the Lehane novel had. Very few adaptations can pull that off. Most movies dodge complexity; Mystic River seeks it out, finds it, and invites you to linger over it.

Thanks, Clint.