Drama, 2003
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon
Score: *****

Eastwood’s finest film since Unforgiven and Honkytonk Man tells the effects on the lives of three childhood pals after one of them is sexually abused and kept in a cellar for a period of almost a week.  The key is that it could have happened to any one of them. 

As grown ups, Tim Robbins plays the walking zombie never fully recovered from the incident while Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon barely survive trying to forget what has transpired.  Not only are all three actors magnificent in their roles but Marcia Gay Harden stands out as Robbins’ long suffering wife who is never sure of her husband who returns home drunk and with blood on his hands one very early morning.  Is he really the murderer of Penn’s teenage daughter? 

One flaw of Mystic River is the many coincidences that happen the very night of the murder.  But all is forgiven as Eastwood and scriptwriter Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential and the last Eastwood vehicle Blood Work) weave a mesmerizing tale of mood, regret and hopelessness in a town that is just as lost as its characters. There are no winners but only survivors in a film that is guaranteed to numb you by the last reel. One of the year’s 10 best!

GILBERT SEAH was born in Singapore and moved to Toronto in 1982. He is an engineer by profession, with a passion for the cinema. Since the age of 10, he has been to the movies almost daily. Having been brought up in the Asian, British and Canadian cultures, he is able to bring a distinct perspective to film.