I can admit it’s a well-made film, but that doesn’t mean I approve.
Mystic River (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:191
Fresh:167
Rotten:24
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: A thriller of great emotional power.
Theatrical Release:Oct 15, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $90,050,414
Synopsis: When they were kids growing up together in a rough section of Boston, Jimmy Markum (SEAN PENN), Dave Boyle (TIM ROBBINS) and Sean Devine (KEVIN BACON) spent their days playing stickball on the... When they were kids growing up together in a rough section of Boston, Jimmy Markum (SEAN PENN), Dave Boyle (TIM ROBBINS) and Sean Devine (KEVIN BACON) spent their days playing stickball on the street, the way most boys did in their blue-collar neighborhood of East Buckingham. Nothing much ever happened in their neighborhood. That is, until Dave was forced to take the ride that would change all of their lives forever. Twenty-five years later, the three find themselves thrust back together by another life altering event - the murder of Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter. Now a cop, Sean is assigned to the case and he and his partner (LAURENCE FISHBURNE) are charged with unraveling the seemingly senseless crime. They must also stay one step ahead of Jimmy, a man driven by an all consuming rage to find his daughter's killer. Connected to the crime by a series of circumstances, Dave is forced to confront the demons of his own past. Demons that threaten to destroy his marriage and any hope he may have for a future. As the investigation tightens around these three friends, an ominous story unfolds that revolves around friendship, family and innocence lost too soon. [More]
Starring: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden
Starring: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney
Director: Clint Eastwood
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland
Producer: Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt, Clint Eastwood
Composer: Lennie Niehaus
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for Mystic River
Eastwood's screen adaptation of the famous Dennis Lehane novel is one of the year's most well-made dramas.
Despite a nagging sensation about its shortcomings, the acting and the atmospherics continue to haunt me.
Tim Robbins took me on a wild chase. I think he was by far the best in this movie.
A deeply felt, haunting work that ranks among Eastwood's best films...
While restrained and internal throughout most of the film, Penn displays both chilling intensity and heart-wrenching grief when it really counts.
This is a flawed film worth seeing for the portraits of three hollow men, and for Stern's great camera work.
“Mystic River” is teeming with various elements that flow together to create one of the finest movies of the year.
An engrossing film that delights despite harboring what could be seen as a big flaw.
Too depressing to fill audiences with delight, but it does seem to validate questionable attitudes, especially an indifference to the suffering of innocent people and a willingness to shoot first and ask questions later.
It's serious with a capital 'S.' It's the kind of grimness that smacks of a bid for Importance with a capital 'I' -- hopefully leading to an Oscar with a captial 'O.'
It's Penn's heavy-lidded, dead-behind-the-eyes turn that overshadows all, carrying the weight, pain and misery of the world -- and the picture.
The real triumph is that while we are fascinated with the particulars of the story, we feel the shame, awkwardness, fears and cosmic fate that bounce off each character.
While a commercial film is more about entertainment, this is more about, for want of a better term, art.
Mystic River may only be 'pretty good,' but thanks to Eastwood, it's a reminder of how great 'pretty good' should be.
So entrenched in anguish that you'll leave feeling empty and unhappy.
Latest News for Mystic River
December 23, 2009:
Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon Split Up ![]()
Never a sure thing in Hollywood: Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, partners for over 23 years, have split up. More...
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Their first three collaborations netted copious amounts of Oscar love and box-office receipts, so it isn't surprising that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are in no hurry... More...
October 18, 2007:
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Competition, or a lack of it, will be the deciding factor at the North American box office this weekend for the half-dozen new releases that studios are packing into already... More...
August 09, 2007:
Clint Eastwood Rescores John Cusack Indie Grace is Gone
For the last two years Clint Eastwood has released heavy-hitting dramas (Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima) in the final voting moments of the Oscar season. This year... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
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| 24% 24% | G-Force |
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|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
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