Mystic River
Dark rippling water reflects the shadowy silhouettes of three people
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClint Eastwood
Screenplay byBrian Helgeland
Based onMystic River
by Dennis Lehane
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTom Stern
Edited byJoel Cox
Music byClint Eastwood
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • October 15, 2003 (2003-10-15)
Running time
138 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25-30 million[2][3]
Box office$156.6 million[2]

Mystic River is a 2003 American neo-noir crime drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney. The screenplay, written by Brian Helgeland, was based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. It is the first film in which Eastwood was credited as composer of the score.

In addition to being a critical and commercial success, Mystic River was nominated for six awards at the 76th Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Penn, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress for Harden, and Best Supporting Actor for Robbins. Penn and Robbins won in their respective categories, making Mystic River the first film to win both awards since Ben-Hur in 1959 and last until Dallas Buyers Club in 2013.

Plot

In 1975, Irish-American friends Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine, and Dave Boyle are playing street hockey in Charlestown, Boston. After deciding to write a mural of their names in a patch of wet concrete, two men, seeming to be police officers, kidnap Dave and sexually abuse him for four days until he escapes.

Twenty-five years later, Jimmy is an ex-convict and neighborhood convenience store owner; Sean is a detective with the Massachusetts State Police whose pregnant wife Lauren recently left him, and Dave is a blue-collar worker continually haunted by the abduction and rape he suffered. Jimmy and Dave are related by marriage, Dave's wife Celeste and Jimmy's second wife Annabeth being cousins.

Jimmy's daughter from his first marriage, Katie, plans to run away to Las Vegas with Brendan Harris, a boy from a family Jimmy despises whom she has been secretly dating. One night, Dave sees Katie and her friends at a local bar. That same night, Katie is murdered, and Dave comes home bloodied and injured. He tells his wife that he fought off a mugger and possibly killed him. Sean and his partner Whitey Powers investigate the murder while Jimmy, distraught at his daughter's death, conducts a separate investigation using his neighborhood connections.

A witness statement suggests that Katie may have known her killer. The detectives learn that the gun used to kill her, a .38 Special revolver, was also used in a liquor store robbery in 1984 by "Just Ray" Harris, the father of Brendan. Harris has been missing since 1989, but Brendan claims he still sends his family $500 monthly. Brendan feigns ignorance about Ray's gun. Whitey suspects Dave, who keeps changing the story about his hand being injured. Dave continues to behave erratically, which upsets Celeste to the point that she leaves their home and tells Jimmy she suspects Dave is the murderer.

Jimmy and his friends invite Dave to a local bar, get him drunk and confront him when he is about to vomit. Jimmy admits to Dave that he killed "Just Ray" for implicating him in the liquor store robbery, which resulted in his imprisonment. Dave reveals to Jimmy that he did kill someone that night, but it was not Katie. He beat to death a child molester whom he found with a child prostitute. Jimmy does not believe Dave and pulls out a knife. He promises to let Dave live if he confesses to Katie's murder. However, when Dave admits to killing Katie, Jimmy kills him and disposes of his body in the adjacent Mystic River.

Meanwhile, after finding his father's gun missing, Brendan confronts his mute younger brother "Silent Ray" and his friend John O'Shea about Katie's murder. Brendan beats the two boys, trying to get them to admit their guilt, and then John pulls out Ray's gun and is about to shoot Brendan. Sean and Whitey, having connected the two boys to the murder, arrive and disarm and arrest John and Ray.

The next morning, Sean tells Jimmy that John and "Silent Ray" confessed to killing Katie as part of a prank gone wrong. Sean asks Jimmy if he has seen Dave, who is wanted for questioning in the murder of a known child molester. Jimmy does not answer, instead thanking Sean for finding Katie's killers, but remarks, "if only you'd been a little faster." Sean then asks Jimmy if he intends to send Celeste a monthly $500 as well.

Sean reunites with Lauren after apologizing for pushing her away while Jimmy confesses what he's done to Annabeth, who tells him he is "a king, and a king knows what to do and does it. Even when it's hard." During a local parade, Dave's son Michael waits for his father. Sean sees Jimmy and mimics a gunshot at him with his hand, whereas Jimmy spreads his arms in a “you got me” gesture.

Cast

Production

Michael Keaton was originally cast in the role of Det. Sean Devine, and did several script readings with the cast, as well as his own research into the practices of the Massachusetts Police Department.[4] However, creative differences between Keaton and Eastwood led to Keaton leaving the production. He was replaced by Kevin Bacon.[5]

Principal photography took place on location in Boston.[5][6]

Release

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 206 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "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."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on reviews from 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[9]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote "Clint Eastwood pours everything he knows about directing into Mystic River. His film sneaks up, messes with your head, and then floors you. You can't shake it. It's that haunting, that hypnotic."[10][11]

On September 8, 2003, David Edelstein wrote a long article for The New York Times with the headline: "Dirty Harry Wants to Say He's Sorry (Again)." The piece examines Mystic River in the context of Eastwood's entire oeuvre, raising questions about the portrayal of violence in film.[12]

Reviewing the film for The New York Times on October 3, 2003, A.O. Scott wrote a long review of this "mighty" work, at one point observing: "Dave's abduction is an act of inexplicable, almost metaphysical evil, and this story of guilt, grief and vengeance grows out of it like a mass of dark weeds. At its starkest, the film, like the novel by Dennis Lehane on which it is based, is a parable of incurable trauma, in which violence begets more violence and the primal violation of innocence can never be set right. Mystic River is the rare American movie that aspires to—and achieves—the full weight and darkness of tragedy."[13]

On October 12, 2003, The New York Times A. O. Scott wrote a piece headlined "Ms. Macbeth and her cousin: The women of Mystic River" which he opened with: "One of the most haunting scenes in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River—a film that consists almost entirely of haunting scenes—comes just before the end. The main dramatic action, we have every reason to suspect, is complete ... A long, climactic night of revelation and confrontation is over, and the weary streets of Boston are flooded with hard autumnal light. The break of day brings a new insight, one that has less to do with the facts of the story than with its meaning. All along, Mystic River has seemed, most obviously, to be about those three men ... But it turns out to be just as much about three (or more) damaged families, about the terror and mystery of marriage and about the fateful actions of two women."[14]

In the New York Times, on June 8, 2004, anticipating the DVD and CD release, Dave Kehr praised the film as "a symphonic study in contrasting voices and values. Long fascinated by music as a subject, ... Mr. Eastwood here creates a genuinely musical style, using his performers like soloists, from Mr. Robbins's moody baritone to Mr. Penn's spiky soprano. Their individual arias are incorporated into a magnificent choral piece".[15]

Box office

The film earned $156,822,020 worldwide with $90,135,191 in the United States and $66,686,829 in the international box office, which is significantly higher than its $25–30 million budget.[2][3]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards February 29, 2004 Best Picture Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt and Clint Eastwood Nominated [16]
Best Director Clint Eastwood Nominated
Best Actor Sean Penn Won
Best Supporting Actor Tim Robbins Won
Best Supporting Actress Marcia Gay Harden Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Brian Helgeland Nominated
American Cinema Editors 2004 Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Joel Cox Nominated [17]
Art Directors Guild February 2004 Feature Film – Contemporary Film Henry Bumstead and Jack G. Taylor Jr. Won [18]
BAFTA Film Awards February 15, 2004 Best Actor in a Leading Role Sean Penn Nominated [19]
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Tim Robbins Nominated
Best Actress in a Supporting Role Laura Linney Nominated
Best Screenplay – Adapted Brian Helgeland Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics December 14, 2003 Best Film Won [20]
Best Ensemble Won
Cannes Film Festival May 14 – 25, 2003 Golden Coach Clint Eastwood Won [21]
Casting Society of America October 2004 Feature Film Won [22]
César Awards February 21, 2004 Best Foreign Film Won [23]
Critics' Choice Awards January 10, 2004 Best Picture Nominated [24][25]
Best Director Clint Eastwood Nominated
Best Actor Sean Penn Won
Best Supporting Actress Marcia Gay Harden Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Tim Robbins Won
Best Ensemble Nominated
Best Screenplay Brian Helgeland Nominated
Best Score Clint Eastwood Nominated
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association January 2004 Best Actor Sean Penn Won [26]
European Film Awards 6 December 2003 Best Non-European Film Nominated [27]
Florida Film Critics Circle January 2, 2004 Best Actor Sean Penn Won [28]
Best Supporting Actor Tim Robbins Won
Golden Globes January 25, 2004 Best Motion Picture – Drama Nominated [29]
Best Director – Motion Picture Clint Eastwood Nominated
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Brian Helgeland Nominated
Best Actor in a Drama Sean Penn Won
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Tim Robbins Won
London Film Critics Circle February 11, 2004 Director of the Year Clint Eastwood Won [30]
Actor of the Year Sean Penn Won
National Board of Review December 3, 2003 Best Film Won [31]
Best Actor Sean Penn Won
National Society of Film Critics January 3, 2004 Best Film 2nd Place [32]
Best Director Clint Eastwood Won
Best Actor Sean Penn 2nd Place
Best Supporting Actor Tim Robbins 2nd Place
Best Screenplay Brian Helgeland 2nd Place
Satellite Awards January 23, 2004 Best Drama Film Nominated [33]
Best Director Clint Eastwood Nominated
Best Actor – Drama Sean Penn Won
Best Supporting Actress – Drama Marcia Gay Harden Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Brian Helgeland Won
Best Cinematography Tom Stern Nominated
Best Editing Joel Cox Nominated
Best Sound Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman Nominated
Screen Actors Guild February 22, 2004 Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Male Actor Tim Robbins Won [34]
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor Sean Penn Nominated
Outstanding Ensemble Nominated
Vancouver Film Critics Circle February 2, 2004 Best Actor Sean Penn Won [35]
Writers Guild of America February 21, 2004 Best Adapted Screenplay Brian Helgeland Nominated [36]

References

  1. ↑ "Mystic River (15)". British Board of Film Classification. September 10, 2003. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mystic River". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Mystic River (2003) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  4. ↑ Gaughan, Liam (September 24, 2023). "Michael Keaton Almost Starred in This Oscar-Winning Clint Eastwood Film". Collider. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Hughes 2009, p. 153.
  6. ↑ Trivedi, Dhruv (April 30, 2021). "Where Was Mystic River Filmed?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Mystic River". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Mystic River Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Mystic River" in the search box). CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  10. ↑ Travers, Peter (September 25, 2003). "Mystic River". Rolling Stone.
  11. ↑ Eliot 2009, p. 307.
  12. ↑ Edelstein, David (September 28, 2003). "Dirty Harry Wants To Say He's Sorry (Again)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  13. ↑ Scott, A. O. (October 3, 2003). "FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; Dark Parable of Violence Avenged". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  14. ↑ Scott, A. O. (October 12, 2003). "FILM; Ms. Macbeth and Her Cousin: The Women of 'Mystic River'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  15. ↑ Kehr, Dave (June 8, 2004). "NEW DVD'S; Looking Into a Dark River, Seeing the Shadow of Evil". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  16. ↑ Hughes 2009, p. 155.
  17. ↑ Dimond, Anna (February 14, 2013). "ACE Eddie noms show revealing splits from Oscars". Variety. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  18. ↑ Mitchell, Courtney (February 2004). "Art directors honor 'River' and 'Rings'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Film in 2004". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Boston honors Mystic River, Translation". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Clint Eastwood: 60 years in film". The Daily Telegraph. October 2015. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  22. ↑ Kamin, Debra (October 2004). "Kudos for casting". Variety. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Barbarian plunders top Cesar prizes". Screen Daily. February 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  24. ↑ Feiwell, Jill (December 2003). "'Mystic,' 'In America' top B'cast Crix list". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  25. ↑ "US critics give Rings four awards". BBC News. 11 January 2004. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  26. ↑ "Charlize Theron honored by Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics for Monster". The Advocate. January 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  27. ↑ Meza, Ed (December 7, 2003). "'Lenin' storms the house at Berlin's EFAs". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  28. ↑ "2003 FFCC Award Winners". Florida Film Critics Circle. January 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Mystic River". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Master And Commander sails off with London Critics awards". Screen Daily. February 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  31. ↑ "National Board of Review Says "Mystic River" is Tops For 2003". IndieWire. December 2003. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Critics society names 'Splendor' best film". Chicago Tribune. January 5, 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  33. ↑ "8th Annual Satellite Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  34. ↑ "SAG Swept Away by "Mystic River"". E! Online. January 15, 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  35. ↑ "4th Annual Award Winners". Vancouver Film Critics Circle. 2 February 2004. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  36. ↑ "SAG, WGA awards lead into Oscar". CNN. February 20, 2004. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2019.

Bibliography

  • Eliot, Marc (2009). American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-307-33688-0.
  • Hughes, Howard (2009). Aim for the Heart: The Films of Clint Eastwood. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-902-7.
  • Ostermann, Eberhard (2007). "Mystic River Oder Die Abwesenheit Des Vaters". Die Filmerzählung: acht exemplarische Analysen. Munich: Fink. pp. 29–43. ISBN 978-3-7705-4562-9.
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