He’s also made a film that’s about as far afield in its examination of the ramifications of the Dirty Harry “shoot now and don’t bother asking questions ever” mindset as possible. With Mystic River, Eastwood has made a long (137 minutes), expansive, deeply serious movie without a single explosion or a jumble of rapid edits. It’s very well made, which is no surprise coming from Clint Eastwood (who continues - even after the box-office disappointment of Blood Work - to craft films his way, making no effort to be trendy, hip or overly concerned with demographics). Mystic River contains some great performances, plus a lot of mood and atmosphere.
