Mystic River (2003)

“Because it’s like I told the girls. Their daddy is a king. And a king knows what to do and does it.” – Annabeth Markum

Number of Times Seen – 4  (Theater in 2003, 10 Mar 2014)

Brief Synopsis – A group of friends lives are changed by something that happened when they were 11.  As adults, 25 years later those events still haunt them all.

My Take on it – Clint Eastwood keeps showing everyone that as talented of an actor that he was/is, he is a much better director.

Mystic River is one of his best movies (second only to Gran Torino (2007) IMHO) and he directs it perfectly.  The way that it was made evoked so many emotions from the viewers and although it isn’t a “feel good” movie, it is the kind that one can watch over and over again because of the complexity of the characters and of the story.

Everyone has moments in their lives that define them and for the three main characters in this movie (played as adults by Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins) it was a fateful day when they were 11 that would continue to haunt them all for the next 25 years.

Besides being a drama about friendship, memories and fears, it is also a story with numerous layers of mystery that we must try and uncover as the plot moves along at a nice pace.

Penn and Robbins both won Oscars for their performances and if it wasn’t for the fact that this movie was released in the same year as the juggernaut The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), this movie might have garnered awards for Eastwood as Director, adapted screenplay and possibly for Best Picture too since it is clearly better than the other 3 nominees.

Bottom Line – Amazingly done by Eastwood, who is one of the best directors around. Excellent performances and storyline.  Highly recommended!

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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