Mystic Cruelty.

Rating: 7/10 (19 June 2015)

Mystic River (2003): Dir: Clint Eastwood / Cast: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence Fishburne: Although a river exists it hardly represents the title as a whole. Three boys grow to adulthood with a memory of abduction of one of them. His adulthood is haunted by the four day molestation. He is married and arrives home one night with blood on his hands. He claims that he was mugged but his wife suspects the worst when his friend's daughter is murdered. Terrific setup plays with our expectations. Directed by Clint Eastwood and one of his best film since the underrated Absolute Power. Powerful performance by Sean Penn as an enraged father seeking justice but unfortunately any justice seems proper. Tim Robbins is excellent as a man placed in a terrible position and can only accept that nothing good will arise from this. Kevin Bacon plays one of the childhood friends who grows to becoming a cop and he is faced with investigating the murder. Marcia Gay Harden is terrific as the wife of Tim Robbins who can only suspect the worst. Laurence Fishburne plays another detective on the case and they track down leads. The ending will either be regarded as troubling or met with satisfaction depending on one's emotional stand on the subject matter. Theme regards the chain link of pain and the wounds that may not heal. Score: 7 / 10