Genre: Crime, Mystery, Drama, Murder, Suspense, Police, Investigation, Disturbing, Detectives, Urban, Marriage, Mistaken Identity, Gore, Revenge, Psychodrama
Tagline: We bury our sins, we wash them clean.
Plot: IN THEATRES: OCTOBER 8, 2003 (LIMITED) OCTOBER 15, 2003 (NATIONAL) In Clint Eastwood's MYSTIC RIVER, a murder mystery in South Boston unites three men who have been friends since childhood. Grippingly powerful performances from the entire cast--Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Marcia Gay Harden, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, and Laura Linney--combined with gritty photography, an exceptionally emotional script, and a convincing working-class Boston setting make this film one of Eastwood's most consistent and penetrating works. Though they live in the same houses where they grew up, Jimmy (Penn), Dave (Robbins), and Sean (Bacon) have drifted apart over time. Their distance is due to a disturbing and violent episode that occurred when they were children. Even now, as adults married with kids, they have never managed to overcome their fear and guilt about what happened. Dave and his wife (Harden) still live next door to Jimmy, who is married to a tough-sexy blond (Linney) and has three daughters. When Jimmy's 19-year-old girl is murdered, he turns to Sean, who works as a policeman, and delivers an ultimatum: find the killer fast or I'll go after him myself. Little do they know, the culprit is the last person they'd ever suspect. This movie screened in October
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 Lean, energetic direction by Clint Eastwood elevates a didactic crime story.--Kirk Honeycutt (Hollywod Reporter)
Despite dragging a little, Mystic River is worth its weight in what will certainly be Oscar gold.  --Kit Bowen (Hollywood.com)
The twists of plot that every good thriller needs are also, in this case, revelations of character. The jolts of surprise you feel when crucial bits of information are disclosed are nothing compared to the shock of seeing who people really are, and what they are capable of doing in the name of love, loyalty or self-preservation.--A.O. Scott (The New York Times)
With an intelligent, insightful screenplay and a riveting key performance, Eastwood has combined his cinematic ingredients in a mixture that cries out for Oscar consideration. Mystic River is haunting and melancholy, and the portraits it paints of Jimmy,Dave, and Sean will stay with you after you have left the theater. In a time when the goal of most movies is to offer instant gratification with no aftertaste, this quality should be both valued and praised. --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Clint Eastwood brings Dennis Lehane's Boston revenge saga to the screen as a mournful, masculine noir that's also the strongest film of his long career.--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
To see strong acting like this is exhilarating. In a time of flashy directors who slice and dice their films in a dizzy editing rhythm, it is important to remember that films can look and listen and attentively sympathize with their characters. Directorsgrow great by subtracting, not adding, and Eastwood does nothing for show, everything for effect.  --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
The scenes move gracefully, even though desperate lives are caught in a fatalistic whirlpool. You know everyone's going to get sucked into this, whether they're sinners or sinned to.--Desson Howe (Washington Post)
Well written, impressively directed and brilliantly cast, this slow-burning thriller is Eastwood’s best film since Unforgiven.  --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
Clint Eastwood returns to retribution and a semblance of form with this moody, involving thriller, even if the stone-faced star/director is saddled with prosaic plotting and a portentous script.  --Nev Pierce (BBC Films)
Above all, "Mystic River" shows Eastwood unafraid of the dark. Rather, he's drawn again and again to pessimistic stories about man waffling between ego and id and eventually losing to the latter.--Jeffrey M. Anderson (San Francisco Examiner)
Eastwood's spare approach to filmmaking, in which less is always more, gives this film a grim reality and a deep sense of intimacy. In many ways the film almost seems like a documentary, and Boston itself -- along with the actual Mystic River -- are as much characters as the human principals.--Paul Clinton (CNN Showbiz)
A powerfully written, acted, and directed film that is as horrifying as it is thrilling to watch. A---Craig Younkin (Lee's Movie Info)
One powerhouse of a film that will likely linger with the viewer long after the ending credits roll. B+--Lee Tistaert (Lee's Movie Info)
Motive, of course, is central to all detective stories. "Mystic River" is the rare example that takes a larger, sociological perspective. While most eyes are on the pebble thrown in the water, Eastwood is after the ripple effect. --Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
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| Written by |
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 | Dennis Lehane
Gone, Baby, Gone, Until Gwen, Mystic River: From Page to Screen |
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| Cast |
Sean Penn
The Game, The Thin Red Line, 21 Grams |
 | Tim Robbins
The Shawshank Redemption, War of the Worlds, Top Gun |
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 | Laura Linney
The Truman Show, Love Actually, The Exorcism of Emily Rose |
 | Emmy Rossum
The Day After Tomorrow, The Phantom of the Opera, Poseidon |
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| Music By |
Clint Eastwood
Million Dollar Baby, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Unforgiven |
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| A solid and powerful drama that'll leave you thinking after you've left the theatre. How memorable it'll be in years to come is open to question, but for now it's a film to be savoured. 8/10 --Gary Panton (Movie Gazette)
Those who enjoy their drama parceled out in tiny portions with the speed of a snail will find River gripping. The rest of us with a pulse will tire of Eastwood’s lumbering execution and transparent techniques that drained Blood Work of life and turned A Perfect World into an imperfect and overlong character study.  --Sean O'Connell (FilmCritic.com)
Births wonderful performances from all three lead actors, as well as Marcia Gay Harden, Thomas Guiry, and virtually everyone else with a strip of film time. 84/100--Jon Lap (Apollo Guide)
"Mystic River" is a compelling film that could have been a classic with some judicious editing in the end and a rethink of the climax. While I am still very disappointed with the last twenty minutes, I cannot completely dismiss the film for its final lapses.--Edward Havens (FilmJerk.com)
There is a solid story here, but it’s weakened by heavy-handed dialogue, strained symbolism and subplots that don’t got anywhere. What’s worse is that meanwhile the lead characters aren’t as developed as they could been and consequently we’re not particularly invested in what they’re going through.  --Kevin N. Laforest (Montreal Film Journal)
Not only is it an interesting story that will have you guessing all the way through, it's also shot beautifully with Eastwood getting just tremendous performances out of his actors - particularly Sean Penn, but nuanced ones from Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins, who does the best work he's done in years here. 8.5/10-- (CHUD.com)
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