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Mystic River

Play trailer 2:20 Poster for Mystic River R Released Oct 15, 2003 2h 17m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 203 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, is the last person to see her alive, while Sean, a homicide detective, is heading up the case.
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Mystic River

Mystic River

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media Powerful performances in graphic story. Only 16+. Rated: 3/5 Dec 26, 2010 Full Review Grant Watson Fiction Machine At first one might assume the film has been set up to be a tense crime thriller. Instead it is a tragedy: the end result is inevitable from the opening scenes. The characters never express any possibility of doing something else. Rated: 8/10 Jan 21, 2025 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Stephen C Success in 2 hour and 17 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Violence and Language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $90,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/23/25 Full Review Tony W Awful film. Some decent actors, some wooden characters and, after a decent start, it quickly degenerates into a dark, depressing mess. Apart from Dave, who has experienced a living hell as a boy, none of the other characters are in the least appealing. So life is not often a bed of roses but this film is a feel-bad movie where an innocent man is shot at the end, and the policeman lets the gangster thug off the hook. A very disappointing, unpleasant two hours. Thanks, Mr Eastwood, for the Wood, the Bad and the Ugly. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/21/25 Full Review Ashish K Mystic River is a film where the characters are skyscrapers and the plot is a sidewalk. Still powerful, still affecting — but yeah, if the story had matched the character writing, this could’ve been a 5/5 all-time classic. Pacing is good in most of the movie , except the end Acting and writing goes together with each other very well but writing could've been more focused on the plot and story as well . Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/19/25 Full Review Nashville I. A force of dark souls. A murder mystery, but also one of the few character studies that’s addictive. It’s incredibly hard to write real, everyday characters that are fascinating that aren’t weird or supernatural characters in some way…this is an exception. Not an uplifting movie at all, but 100% one that you will be completely invested in. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/17/25 Full Review Ricardo B Brilhantemente escrito e lindamente atuado por um elenco pesadíssimo, estrelado Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon e Laurence Fishburne, que entregam, coletivamente, atuações espetaculares, esse suspense dramático nos leva em um mistério imersivo e um fascinate estudo sobre moral, o peso do trauma e inocência perdida. Marcado por personagens profundamente desenvolvidos e um desfecho inesquecível e desolador, "Sobre Meninos e Lobos" é o tipo de filme que encerra deixando o espectador emocionalmente destruído, mas permanece em nossas mentes muito tempo após os créditos finais começarem a rolar. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/06/25 Full Review Gregory S An absolutely incredible movie. The performances by every actor and actress were outstanding. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/30/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Mystic River

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Movie Info

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, is the last person to see her alive, while Sean, a homicide detective, is heading up the case.
Director
Clint Eastwood
Producer
Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Judie Hoyt
Screenwriter
Brian Helgeland, Dennis Lehane
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Malpaso Company, Village Roadshow Prod.
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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