Clint Eastwood's Mystic River is a depressing, dark meditation on the effects of violence and a continuing cycle of murder. Beginning with the abduction of a young boy in front of his two friends, it shows how each character has progressed into adulthood as a result. Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) is a reformed convict running a local supermarket in Boston with three daughters, Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) is a dedicated cop who's neglected his wife, and Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) is a haunted, dark shadow of a man. The brutal murder of Jimmy's daughter brings the three back together, with tragic consequences. Sean Penn is outstanding, bringing his character from normal parent with a dark past, to shattered and vengeful, to powerful but once again forsaken. Tim Robbins is very, very affecting and tragic as Dave, giving the film one of its most powerful scenes. Bacon has a less showy role but works wonders, pulling off another great understated performance. In the role of Dave's wife Celeste, Marcia Gay Harden is marvellous, as a loving but confused wife growing ever more afraid of her husband's bizzare actions. Her confession scene to Penn is superb. Laura Linney's role as Jimmy's wife Annabeth is smaller, but she is allowed one great final speech, where she convinces her husband to continue with a life of crime. It's a powerful moment that could easily have struck a very false note. Brian Helgeland's adaptation is faithful to the novel it's based on, losing none of the power of Lehane's writing.
Overall Mystic River is simply one of Eastwood's best movies to date, and one of the most powerful and affecting American films of a very long while, that resonates long after it has finished.
*****