"We bury our sins, we wash them clean."

Mystic River is a character driven, plot driven, performance driven film.  Directed by Clint Eastwood, his 25th time in the director's chair, everything about this film speaks of subtle power.  Set in present day south Boston, this film begins by reflecting on three childhood friends: Jimmy Marcus (Sean Penn), Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins), and Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon).  The film then goes into present day.  The three childhood friends have grown into very different adults.  Sean Devine has become a local detective.  Dave Boyle, haunted by repressed memories of his youth, has become something of an underachiever.  Jimmy Marcus became the neighborhood crime boss/watch dog, maintaining his connections through his corner grocery store.  The three are brought back together when Marcus's oldest daughter is found murdered in the park.  Sean Devine is the detective assigned to the case, along with his partner Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne).  The film then becomes a hall of mirrors where the audience never knows where the next twist is going to come from.

The strongest aspects of this movie are the performances.  Sean Penn plays his role of a shattered father with intense prowess.  In the film, his range goes from screaming "Is that my daughter?" while being held back by a dozen cops, to a menacing calm as he is racing the cops to figure out who is responsible for the murder.  Marcia Gay Harden plays the role of Dave Boyle's (Tim Robbins's) wife.  As the film progresses and Boyle's character acts increasingly preoccupied, Harden's character moves from quiet support, to fearful questioning.  Possibly the best performance in the film comes from Tim Robbins who plays Dave Boyle.  Haunted his entire adult life by a memory from the past, Boyle is an enigma from the start.  While the film progresses, and more is learned about each character, Boyle is the one who continues to defy description.  Robbins's dark, suspenseful portrayal keeps this film on edge.

Adapted from the best selling novel by Dennis Lehane, this film plays on audience expectation.  What was thought to be true turns up wrong, what was speculated turns out way off, and what was thought to be no big deal, is.  The tag line gives nothing away, and yet is the center of the film.  The beauty of Mystic River is that things are never cut and dry.  Three friends find their way back into each others lives through an atrocity, but now, nothing is as it was.

Both Penn and Robbins earned Oscars for their performances in this film.  Nominated for five Academy Awards, Mystic River earns its keep among the top films of the year.  If only The Lord of the Rings had come out one year later …