Mystic River (2003)

The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them has a family tragedy.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Brian Helgeland (screenplay), Dennis Lehane (novel)

Stars:

Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon

Won 2 Oscars. Another 54 wins & 142 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Jimmy Markum
Tim Robbins	...	Dave Boyle
Kevin Bacon	...	Sean Devine
Laurence Fishburne	...	Whitey Powers
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Celeste Boyle
Laura Linney	...	Annabeth Markum
Kevin Chapman	...	Val Savage
Tom Guiry	...	Brendan Harris (as Thomas Guiry)
Emmy Rossum	...	Katie Markum
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Silent Ray Harris
Andrew Mackin	...	John O'Shea
Adam Nelson	...	Nick Savage
Robert Wahlberg	...	Kevin Savage
Jenny O'Hara	...	Esther Harris
John Doman	...	Driver

Storyline

In the summer of 1975 in a neighborhood in Boston, 3 kids, Dave Boyle and two of his friends, Jimmy and Sean, are playing on the sidewalk when Dave gets abducted by two men and endures several days of sexual abuse. Eventually, Dave escapes traumatized throughout adulthood. Jimmy is an ex-con and a father of three, whose daughter Katie, is found dead and Dave becomes the number one suspect. Sean is a homicide detective, investigating Katie's murder, ends up finding himself faced with past and present demons as more is uncovered about Katie's murder. Learning Katie had a boyfriend, ballistics later turn up a gun belonging to the father, which then puts her boyfriend as the suspect. Will Sean find out who killed Katie? Will Jimmy make it through the investigation? And will Dave ever find out what really happened when he was abducted?

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | sexual abuse | childhood friend | child molester | irish american | 

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Taglines:

We bury our sins, we wash them clean.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mystic River

Filming Locations:

Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$640,815, 12 October 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$90,135,191

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$156,822,020

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Keaton was originally cast as Sean Devine. He had done several script readings with the rest of the principal cast, and he had been doing research for the role with the Massachusetts State Police Department, and living in Boston for several weeks. A month before principal photography was to start, Keaton and Director Clint Eastwood got into a huge argument, and Keaton left the project. A week later, Kevin Bacon was cast in the role. Keaton would eventually be in a film about child abuse by the Catholic church in Boston: Spotlight (2015) (only as a reporter rather than a detective).

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Goofs

When Jimmy Markum is drinking whiskey with Celeste Boyle the cap of the bottle is alternately on/off between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Radio Announcer #1: ...before the end of the season last year, and then re-injured it in spring training on a terrific game-saving play. You know, I was talking with...
Sean's Father: What time is this going on?
Jimmy's Father: 7:30 is the pre-game.
Sean's Father: Who'd you say was pitching tonight?
Jimmy's Father: Tiant's pitching.
Sean's Father: Goddamn Cuban, man. He can hurl it.
Jimmy's Father: I'd hate to be facing him.

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Crazy Credits

The Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Logos at the beginning of the film, are not animated. They are both coloured Grey and stay in the middle of the screen.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #33.23 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Cosmo
Written by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens

User Reviews

Chilling, Cringe Worthy Tale!

The film is about the relationships among three men from childhood after one of them is abducted by two men and kept a prisoner for four days in the woods. The beginning scene where he gets in the car made me cringe. Thankfully, we never see the abuse but we know with it being just as horrifying. Decades later, the men like Jimmy runs a neighborhood deli; Sean does homicide cases for the state; and Dave is battling his demons from childhood when he was abducted and tortured by two grown middle aged men. Sean and Jimmy feel guilt and pain about the time Dave was taken away. When Jimmy's 19 year old daughter, Katie, is found murdered, we see an Oscar winning performance by Sean Penn. Dave is played by Tim Robbins in an equally moving Oscar winning performance in the supporting actor category. Marcia Gay Harden earned her second Oscar nomination for supporting actress for playing Dave's long suffering wife. The end of the film has some twists and turns. Sometimes, karma takes place. Jimmy is not always the family man and has his own secrets. I wondered about Kate's funeral scene. Laura Linney does a fine job playing Jimmy's second wife. The film was directed by legendary Clint Eastwood on location in Boston. The supporting cast is excellent particularly Jenny O'Hara as Estelle Harris and Susan Willis who played Mrs. Prior. Emmy Rossum does a memorable turn as Katie Markum. Kevin Chapman is memorable as one of the Savage brothers. Laurence Fishburne was great as Sean's police partner in investigating Katie's homicide.