Mystic River

2003 Directed by Clint Eastwood

We bury our sins, we wash them clean.

The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them has a family tragedy.

Sean Penn Tim Robbins Kevin Bacon Laurence Fishburne Marcia Gay Harden Laura Linney Kevin Chapman Tom Guiry Emmy Rossum Eli Wallach Spencer Treat Clark Andrew Mackin Adam Nelson Robert Wahlberg Jenny O'Hara John Doman Cameron Bowen Jason Kelly Connor Paolo T. Bruce Page Miles Herter Cayden Boyd Tori Davis Jonathan Togo John Franchi Ed O'Keefe Shawn Fitzgibbon Will Lyman Celine du Tertre Show All…

Alternative Titles

Río Místico, Sobre Meninos e Lobos, 神秘悬河, 神秘河流, Σκοτεινό Ποτάμι, ミスティック・リバー, 미스틱 리버, Таинственная река

drama mystery crime thriller

138 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by adrianbalboa ★★★½ 9

have not interacted with a man in so long i found myself lookinggg at sean penn. fucking. chaun penné. of all people. But then i realized it was just cause he was wearing a black turtleneck n matching leather duster. it’s like a jacket only it’s longer, thicker, and far more badass. he looks like lorenzo lamas, and women find him irresistible
Review by Branson Reese 20

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

There was a really intense kid who did theater with me in high school who would splash water in his face and grunt into a mirror before he went onstage. He always talked about Mystic River and how he was going for “that same intensity that Sean Penn had when he found out his daughter was dead.” He referenced that goddamn scene all the time.
Anyway, this movie fucking sucks
Review by Esteban Gonzalez ★★★★★ 7

“We bury our sins here, Dave. We wash them clean.”
Mystic River and Unforgiven are my two favorite Clint Eastwood films and depending on which one I see last I tend to put in first place. Right now I’m inclined to declare Mystic River as Eastwood’s best film, but that is subject to change anytime (perhaps even before I finish writing this review). Nominated for six Academy Awards, the film won two: Sean Penn for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Tim Robbins for Best Supporting Actor. I was rooting for Brian Helgeland’s wonderful screenplay adaptation from Dennis Lehane’s novel, but it lost out to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Helgeland had previously won…
Review by Austin Gorski ★★★★½ 2

"Is that my daughter in there?"
Wow, I can't believe it took me this long to watch this. Clint Eastwood had some serious balls for even attempting to tackle this type of subject matter at the time, and I congratulate him for that. The entire cast is phenomenal, especially Penn and Robbins, and like every other Clint Eastwood film, the cinematography is great. Even if the twist was a bit of a let down, Mystic River isn't as focused on it's mystery story as it is about the relationship between the three leads throughout their lives, which in a way made it a better film overall. Easily one of the better mystery films from the early 2000's.
Review by Dirk van Eck ★★★ 8

First watch of Noir-Vember. Following the standard police detective plot - murdered girl, multiple suspects, who will turn out to be the killer? - ‘Mystic River’ scores its point by enlisting a set of actors who surpass their level, led by a tremendous Sean Penn; man does that guy have range (I saw ‘Milk’ last week, what a difference). Second positive thing: though crimes seem to bore me without exception, Clint Eastwood sets a pace here that’s not rushed per se, but so captivating from the first minute that the hours seemed to fly by. Got myself some pizza at what I thought would be the forty minute mark, only to see there was barely an hour left! The variety…
Review by Chris 🦑 ★½ 6

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

When your entire ‘message’ can be summed up with “murdering an innocent man because he’s mentally ill and his memory is fragmented due to severe trauma is okay because you did it for your family” and there’s even a line towards the end that’s supposed to be deep that goes like “survivors of child sexual abuse have it hard for their entire lives but maybe we ALL do. Think about that...” maybe you shouldn’t be making movies. Tim Robbins’ character died a horrible and ugly death and suffered the entire movie while Kevin bacon Sean penn were just like well that’s over. Still friends though right?
God this was just a mediocre movie until the entire last act just made it disgusting
Review by josh lewis ★★★★

lehane's overbearing fatalism expressed here with an almost unbearable patience, this is eastwood at his most elemental... man's basest instincts rendered both tragic and horrifying, his violence creating eternal waves of trauma, consuming the mind and soul of everyone within reach.
Review by katie ★★★ 2

FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Review by Trevor Wang ★★★★

“The reality is we're still 11-year-old boys locked in a cellar imagining what our lives would have been if we'd escaped.” —Sean
3 childhood friends are forever changed after the tragedy of one family. The complexity of the characters is revealed through their struggling morals, which become ambiguous to determine the truth of a mysterious crime.
Based on Dennis Lehane's novel, Mystic River is a great film directed by Clint Eastwood. Built with a sense of urgency and suspenseful plot, the stellar cast delivers incredible performances. A mystery is usually not as obvious as it appears to be.
"Maybe someday you forget what it's like to be human and maybe then, it's OK." —Dave Boyle.
Review by Adryon Thomas ★★★★½ 1

So brutally unapologetic...
...it's amazing.
You need to see this film.
Review by Matt “Snapper” Girello ★★★★½ 2

Move over Departed, I have a new favorite film set in Boston.
Tim Robbins and Sean Penn though...*chef’s kiss*
Review by Haydn ★★★★½ 2

It's like vampires. Once it's in you, it never goes away.
Clint Eastword's Mystic River is one heart ranching, depressing, and powerful look at gulit, pain, loss, and the human condition.
Every shot and frame of this picture makes the situation of the plot feel more grounded and believable without any need to shove it in our faces. Thus making the impact this has much stronger.
The likes of Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon imboied their characters to pure perfection. As we get to understand the state each character are in and how they are connected with the struggle they're facing. All of them facing hardship in their life and they don't know how to control it because…

Recent reviews

Review by Deace ★★★★

Ultra F por Dave
Review by jnithin ★★★

Average Thriller 💯
Review by afoxwhoisnice ★★★★½

a beautiful well done and painful tale of tragedy. -1/2 star because some scenes weren't well exposed, shoddy camera work isn't nice to see.
Review by Rob Stevens ★★★★

I really enjoyed it while it was being a film noir, but the last ten minutes unraveled it quite a bit and left an awful taste in the mouth
Review by FortiCine10 ★★★★★

Vaya belleza de película
Las actuaciones de Sean Penn, Tim Robins y Bacon son sublimes.
El guión y la historia tremendas.
Y el giro argumentativo bestial
De mis favoritas de todos los tiempos.
Review by Graham Lunt ★★★★

Why does everyone just let Sean Penn do whatever he wants, he's freaking Sean Penn he deserves to be locked up
Review by Alex Pellegrino ★★★★

Powerhouse acting, clunky script.
Sean Penn’s black turtleneck and leather duster & gloves made several points.
Review by Mau Contreras ★★½

The cast here is top notch with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon being real stand outs for me. However, it’s clear to me that a crime movie can only be as good as the storytelling, and in this case (as with a lot of Eastwood’s filmography) the storytelling is not as great as the performances.
Review by Mohammed ★★★½

هذا واحد من مشروع إعادة الأفلام القديمة اللي معطيها تقييم عالي واول واحد يخيب اعتقد
الفلم مليان قرارات كتابية غير منطقية وهذي اكبر إشكالية واجهتها، وفوقها يفشل في ربط الشخصيات بين الماضي والحاضر (كل شوي واحد يسأل هذا مين؟)
واضح ان القصة مبنية على اللقطة الافتتاحية ومالومهم لأنها ممتازة وتشد لكن الكاتب كأنه تعب اخر الفلم/الرواية وقام يلفق تبريرات سيئه يمين ويسار علشان يقفل القصة وهنا تشوف النقطة الأولى بوضوح.
بالرغم من هالمشاكل، كنت مستمتع بالاعادة لكن ابدا ماكان يستاهل التقييم السابق
Review by Ashley ★★★★

“I loved her so much. I’m never gonna feel that again. It doesn’t happen twice.”
Incredible. Even better than I remember it. Very solid opening and closing scenes.
Review by ana 🦇 ★★

white men from boston just be like that huh
Review by Ken ★★★★

Everything is good actually but near the ending,,,,,, Laura Linney what the FUCK did you just said