Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle and Sean Devine are all friends. One day, they are playing hockey on the street when they decide to write their names in some wet cement drying nearby. However, a car stops and a man gets out pretending to be a cop. He procedes to take David away in a car with another man.
For four days, David is raped and tortured before he escapes. He is never the same again.
As the years go by, all all three friends drift apart. Sean (Kevin Bacon) becomes a state policeman; Jimmy (Sean Penn) has a family and owns a a corner store. David (Tim Robbins), who nver fully recovered from his ordeal, has a wife and two sons.
In the early morning of the day of Jimmy's youngest daughter's first communion, his oldest daughter is murdered. That same morning, David comes home with a knife wound to his chest and a gash on his hand, both dripping with blood.
Sean, with his partner, Whitey (Laurence Fishburn), are on the case. Sean is instantly flung back into his old world with his three friends, trying to figure out who killed Jimmy's daughter.
There are many plot turns and suprises that will have you guessing untill the very end of the film, which has a pleasent twist on what really happened to Jimmy's daughter.
Clint Eastwood did an amazing job with Mystic River. His use of camara angles and sudden movements is superb, and the suprise ending which may or may not be what you think adds a special element to the film which complement the great acting by all the stars, including Penn and Robbins, who steal the show.
I liked Mystic River. Part Law and Order, part NYPD Blue, you'd never guess it to be directed by Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood users subtle hints to lead the characters to the final end. Mystic River is more about the journey of the three frinds the finding a solution to the problem at hand. Mystic River is a dark and moody film, but that's OK. Clint does a wonderfull job handling the subject material.
I thought Kevin Bacon was superb, and Tim Robbins stole the show. Even though Tim's accent came and went in several places, I thought is was negligable to his great performance.
What's interesting to note is that Both times David is driven off, he never "comes back"; it is always someone or something different that comes back.
Sean Penn's character, Jimmy, is basically a nervous wreck for the entire movie. Sean Penn's best scene, I felt, was when he was trying to get to the body in the park, and the cops wouldn't let him go. Truly brilliant performance by Sean penn.
And what is that thing on Sean Penn's neck???
Plot: 
A little of this cop show, a little of that one, add in several great actors and one superb director, and you get Mystic River, a brilliant crime drama/murder mystery.
Visual Effects: 
Clint Eastwood used various camera techniquesa nd angles to creat a visual collage of great footage.
The once scene near the end of the film, where the gun is pointed at the screen and is fired was amazingly done. Great film shot.
Sound:
The score was well done, and fit the moody nature of the picture.
Character Development:
Each chacter develops in their own ways; Some might say David the most, other may say Jimmy or even Sean, but they all take different paths. The Development of each main character is handled well.
Atmosphere:
Eastwood make it easy to get into by having Mystic River light in the beginning but it does get very dark a moody at the end.
Realism:
Well done with little to no Hollywoodism here.
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it was nominated with for Best Picture:
*Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, (2003); Lost in Translation, (2003); Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, (2003); Seabiscuit, (2003)
8.57/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
4-2-04
Age at win: 43
Nominated for: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Jimmy Marcus, Mystic River
Nomination: 4/5 (acting), 4/5 (total); Win: First
Having been nominated thrice before, Sean Penn was definatly deserving this time, for Mystic River. How ever, he beat out the one one who should have won, Bill Murray.
Sean Penn plays the part of Jimmy Marcus very well; he nails down the Boston accent to a tee. His real triumph is the scene where the police are holding him back from getting a look at his daughter's dead body. No one could have played the scene better.
Whene the ending draws near, and we learn what really happened, Penn's brilliant acting shines through.
1-03-04
Age at win: 39
Nominated for: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Dave Boyle, Mystic River
Nomination: 1/1 (acting), 1/2 (total); Win: Only
After his character escapes the tortures of his captors, Tim Robbin's character is never the same again.
Tim plays the part of Dave Boyle with a sullen demenor; he mopes around all the time and is never happy about the things that go on in his life.
This all stems from him comming home one night with blood on his hands. The audiance is never sure if he is the killer or not, even up to his final scenes of the film.
Tim Robbins was a deserving winner of the Oscar, as this was his best role since Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption.
1-3-04
Sean Penn
DOB: August 17, 1960
Sean Penn's performance
Tim Robbins
DOB: October 16, 1958;
Tim Robbin's performance
