Mystic River

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2:20

Mystic River

R

Released Oct 15, 2003

2h 17m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

202 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

When the daughter of ex-con Jimmy Marcus is murdered, two of his childhood friends from the neighborhood are involved. Dave, a blue-collar worker, was the last person to see her alive, while Sean, a homicide detective, is heading up the case. As Sean proceeds with his investigation, Jimmy conducts one of his own through neighborhood contacts. Eventually, Jimmy suspects Dave is the culprit and considers taking the law into his own hands.

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Critics Consensus

Anchored by the exceptional acting of its strong cast, Mystic River is a somber drama that unfolds in layers and conveys the tragedy of its story with visceral power.

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David Germain

Associated Press

Eastwood and his actors create a brooding drama whose events and interrelationships seem surreally improbable yet painfully authentic.

Nov 12, 2018

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Neil Norman

London Evening Standard

It is a film of magisterial, slow-burning power, one of the finest examples of recent American cinematic storytelling and certainly Eastwood's most mature film.

Jan 11, 2018

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Powerful performances in graphic story. Only 16+.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 26, 2010

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David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Eastwood's film is rooted in a profound misreading, or more to the point, a profound ignorance of society and human relationships. His false and shallow premises lead the filmmaker to construct an unconvincing, fantastical drama.

Feb 15, 2021

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Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

Mystic River features a moving screenplay, solid direction and a superb cast highlighted by Sean Penn's Oscar-worthy performance.

Nov 15, 2019

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

While Mystic River is at its basest a crime thriller, it is so much more than that.

Nov 13, 2019

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Rrobert G

Great writing, acting and direction. A movie with people who are real and whose lives are rendered from theirs and other's past. You can sense it won't end well, but the characters are powerless to prevent tragedy as each only holds their part of the puzzle. A movie for us fatalists.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/02/24

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Audience Member

It was good and all but there was no suspense added to the plot. The story evolves around an incident that happened at the past and I failed to see how that enhances the mystery of a detective movie. Not a bad movie, but not a good pay off at the completion.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/20/24

Full Review

Fabrícia F

Amigos de infância separados por desventuras trágicas que rompem o laço que os unia. A partir daí conflitos somados a dura realidade de um crime, os farão questionar o valor e a importância dessa amizade na fase adulta. Emocionante, comovente, visceral.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/25/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Some may not like the movie’s ending, but it is how a movie should end. Mystic River is a heart wrenching film with a superb title. On top of that, the film has sad background score. The performance of Sean Penn (played Jimmy Markum) and Tim Robbins (played Dave Boyle) is also captivating. Much applause to Clint Eastwood and Brian Helgeland for crafting this masterpiece. It stayed true to the book

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/06/24

Full Review

Fran S

Mystic River delivers powerful performances that anchor a promising story, but ultimately ends up wasting it's potential into an unsatisfying ending, mistaking shallow cruelty from true tragedy and ultimately wasting an outstandingly catchy first act thread.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/31/24

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Faiz D

It is a truly powerful and heartbreaking movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/29/24

Full Review

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Clint Eastwood

Director

Sean Penn

Jimmy Markum

Tim Robbins

Dave Boyle

Kevin Bacon

Sean Devine

Laurence Fishburne

Whitey Powers

Marcia Gay Harden

Celeste Boyle

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Mystic River: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When the daughter of ex-con Jimmy Marcus is murdered, two of his childhood friends from the neighborhood are involved. Dave, a blue-collar worker, was the last person to see her alive, while Sean, a homicide detective, is heading up the case. As Sean proceeds with his investigation, Jimmy conducts one of his own through neighborhood contacts. Eventually, Jimmy suspects Dave is the culprit and considers taking the law into his own hands.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Judie Hoyt
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland, Dennis Lehane
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Village Roadshow Prod., Malpaso Company
Rating: R (Violence|Language)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 2, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $90.1M
Runtime: 2h 17m
Sound Mix: Surround

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