I thought it was a well-made, well-acted film, but what ruined it for me was the storyline-- I didn't buy it for a second. Too many improbables, too many incredible coincidences and plot contrivances-- which I assume came from the original story and had nothing to do with Eastwood-- and you've lost me, as this film did.

I am a huge fan of Eastwood, both as an actor and a director. This one however, didn't work too well. I got the sense that he was trying too hard to do something "different". Combine that with Penn's horrible overacting....and this was somwhere between mediocre and good.

I sought out a few contacts/friends who grew up in Boston and they all said the same thing: Eastwood's depiction of a lower-class Boston-area neighborhood was dead-on. Simple plot- a murder tears apart a small neighborhood with some deep scars. Very good film. Solid work by Eastwood handling a cast of Hollywood regulars- he gets good work out them all.