Chilling, Cringe Worthy Tale!

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2013)

The film is about the relationships among three men from childhood after one of them is abducted by two men and kept a prisoner for four days in the woods. The beginning scene where he gets in the car made me cringe. Thankfully, we never see the abuse but we know with it being just as horrifying. Decades later, the men like Jimmy runs a neighborhood deli; Sean does homicide cases for the state; and Dave is battling his demons from childhood when he was abducted and tortured by two grown middle aged men. Sean and Jimmy feel guilt and pain about the time Dave was taken away. When Jimmy's 19 year old daughter, Katie, is found murdered, we see an Oscar winning performance by Sean Penn. Dave is played by Tim Robbins in an equally moving Oscar winning performance in the supporting actor category. Marcia Gay Harden earned her second Oscar nomination for supporting actress for playing Dave's long suffering wife. The end of the film has some twists and turns. Sometimes, karma takes place. Jimmy is not always the family man and has his own secrets. I wondered about Kate's funeral scene. Laura Linney does a fine job playing Jimmy's second wife. The film was directed by legendary Clint Eastwood on location in Boston. The supporting cast is excellent particularly Jenny O'Hara as Estelle Harris and Susan Willis who played Mrs. Prior. Emmy Rossum does a memorable turn as Katie Markum. Kevin Chapman is memorable as one of the Savage brothers. Laurence Fishburne was great as Sean's police partner in investigating Katie's homicide.