A profound and tragic story

Rating: 8/10 (31 August 2009)

This dark, brooding film is a murder mystery that unfolds against the backdrop of early trauma in the lives of three boys in a Boston suburb. The unnamed location, perhaps Chelsea, evokes the clannish, guarded nature typical of Boston neighborhoods that tolerates without welcoming outsiders. The lives of the three main characters diverge with the passage of time, then come together again during the unfolding of the tragic events in the story. Each of the principals has issues they must grapple with each day and their lives and history are woven into an unstable, tattered quilt that threatens to unravel at any time. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon are all excellent in portraying the emotional strains and the shifting tides that bring them together in this somber character study. Lawrence Fishburne is good as a detective on the periphery of his partner's personal ups and downs and is sympathetic but professional in his pursuit of suspects in the case. Clint Eastwood piloted this film which is one of his best in a great body of work as an actor and director.