Word: hardener
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...brings his full actor-y powers to bear in Mystic River, Eastwood’s latest effort. Too often, the film feels less like the well-crafted whodunit at its center and more like an freshman acting class: Penn thrashes and grimaces, Tim Robbins acts numb, and Marcia Gay Harden wobbles her voice so much that you wonder if she’s standing on the San Andreas Fault. On the other hand, Kevin Bacon does some of the best work of his career as a reasonable cop beset by marriage problems. He strikes a note of casual verisimilitude...
...Mooseport’s plot and characters could all have been written half a century ago. While the movie’s male figures are all bumbling egotists, their female counterparts’ common sense and perpetual looks of exasperation are just as boring and one-dimensional. Marcia Gay Harden gives the film’s best performance in the single scene that allows her to show a little personality. Christine Baranski, who must be getting sick of playing vengeful, money-grubbing ex-wives, is amusing as ever as the president’s (brace yourself) vengeful, money-grubbing...
...good five minutes, until the pleasant banter gives way to the introduction of a serious topic, be it politics, education, sex or money—but it’s usually politics. At this point my friend’s posture will straighten, his face will harden, and his voice will drop several pitches. As he begins to outline his points like essay paragraphs—the in-depth history, logic and economics behind the minimum wage—I shrink back and begin to tune out. In my mind, arguments only lead to awkwardness and resentment...
...agree with them. There's talk radio and cable and Truebeliever.com to reinforce and inflame their views rather than challenge them. At the bookstore, Ann Coulter and Al Franken square off on the best-seller table (see box). The hordes of media shouters both mirror the electorate and harden their outlook. Moderation may be sensible and practical, but it's not entertaining, and it doesn't sell books...
...quick fix." Penn loved the camaraderie of the Boston location where Mystic River was shot. He also liked Eastwood's relaxed control on the set, the director's ability to get first-take perfection from some very serioso thespians, including co-stars Linney, Laurence Fishburne and Marcia Gay Harden...