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

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, 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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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

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Lorenz L

Career lows from everyone involved. I mean from Penn, Robbins, Bacon, Linney and Harden to the script girl, the Best Boy, craft services and the drivers. Whoever let Eastwood make movies? What made them think this was a good idea?This is such a slap in the face of cinema it makes me sick. I literally just threw the DVD in the garbage.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/25

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Lucas B

Well filmed and good acting but the story of the movie is lacking a lot. You can tell right from the start that the person they want you to believe is the killer, in such painfully obvious way, is not actually the killer, because if he was, the movie would be pointless. So you just wait there for an hour and a half waiting to see who is the actual killer while all the focus of the movie is on the guy that you already know is not the killer.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/25

Full Review

Sergio A

It seems that Clint Eastwood has been doing everything right for decades, bringing out the best in his actors. Despite the weighty themes he explores, his films never fall into excess or sentimentality.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/06/25

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

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Clint Eastwood

Director

Sean Penn

Jimmy Markum

Tim Robbins

Dave Boyle

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Mystic River: Trailer 1

2:20

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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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