Unless you listen carefully, you may not even hear the score on the
soundtrack as you watch the new film, "Mystic River."

If you really listen, you will hear quiet, subtle music, used in an
exemplary sparing way - a blessing in an era of bloated, deafening,
obnoxious "music" at the movies.

The reason I paid attention in the first place was this attention-getting
line in the credits: "Music by Clint Eastwood, with Lennie Niehaus
conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival
Chorus." Whoa!  This I've got to hear.

That faraway music in the background sounds like a slowed-down variation
on a slow movement from the Verdi Requiem, the chorus almost inaudible,
but the gently rolling waves of sound providing an important presence.
It's not mood-setting, but rather mood-enhancing music, and good enough
to be heard by itself, as were the great soundtracks from the '40s or,
more recently, Philip Glass' "Mishima."

Composers are responsible only partially for the loud, jacked-up music
in movies; more decisive are the wishes of sound engineers, editors, and
- especially - the director.  In the case of "Mystic River," the man who
kept the lid on the volume of Eastwood's music was Eastwood, the director.
And that should give a strong hint about the whole work: the veteran
director who reined in the novice composer also created balance and
excellence overall.

His best since the great "Unforgiven," Eastwood produced and directed a
steadily intriguing and involving murder mystery, with story and character
development that usually you find good literature.  (Brian Helgeland's
screenplay is based on Dennis Lehane's novel.)

Eastwood took four accomplished actors and got their best work out of
them.  Tim Robbins and Sean Penn out front, Kevin Bacon and Laurence
Fishburne more in the background give a grand ensemble performance.
Catch "Mystic River" when it opens on Wednesday, and listen to the music,
but not too hard to miss a combination of wonderful acting and direction.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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