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Mystic River (film) - Wikipedia

Mystic River (film) - Wikipedia

Dark rippling water reflects the shadowy silhouettes of three people

Mystic River (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mystic River
Dark rippling water reflects the shadowy silhouettes of three people
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClint Eastwood
Screenplay byBrian Helgeland
Based onMystic River
by Dennis Lehane
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTom Stern
Edited byJoel Cox
Music byClint Eastwood
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • October 15, 2003
Running time
138 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25–30 million[2][3]
Box office$156.6 million[2]

Mystic River is a 2003 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Sean PennTim RobbinsKevin BaconLaurence FishburneMarcia Gay Harden, and Laura Linney. The screenplay, written by Brian Helgeland, was based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. It is the first film in which Eastwood was credited as composer of the score.

The film was a critical and commercial success. Mystic River was nominated for six awards at the 76th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning Best Actor for Penn, and Best Supporting Actor for Robbins.

Plot

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In 1975, Irish-American friends Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine, and Dave Boyle are playing street hockey in CharlestownBoston. After deciding to write a mural of their names in a patch of wet concrete, two men, seeming to be police officers, kidnap Dave and sexually abuse him for four days until he escapes.

Twenty-five years later, Jimmy is an ex-convict and neighborhood convenience store owner; Sean is a detective with the Massachusetts State Police whose pregnant wife Lauren recently left him, and Dave is a blue-collar worker continually haunted by the abduction and rape he suffered. Jimmy and Dave are related by marriage, Dave's wife Celeste and Jimmy's second wife Annabeth being cousins.

Jimmy's daughter from his first marriage, Katie, plans to run away to Las Vegas with Brendan Harris, a boy from a family Jimmy despises whom she has been secretly dating. One night, Dave sees Katie and her friends at a local bar. That same night, Katie is murdered, and Dave comes home bloodied and injured. He tells his wife that he fought off a mugger and possibly killed him. Sean and his partner Whitey Powers investigate the murder while Jimmy, distraught at Katie's death, conducts a separate investigation using his neighborhood connections.

A witness statement suggests that Katie may have known her killer. The detectives learn that the gun used to kill her, a .38 Special revolver, was also used in a liquor store robbery in 1984 by "Just Ray" Harris, the father of Brendan. Harris has been missing since 1989, but Brendan claims he still sends his family $500 monthly. Brendan feigns ignorance about Ray's gun. Whitey suspects Dave, who keeps changing the story about his hand being injured. Dave continues to behave erratically, which upsets Celeste to the point that she leaves their home and tells Jimmy she suspects Dave is the murderer.

Jimmy and his friends invite Dave to a local bar, get him drunk and confront him when he is about to vomit. Jimmy admits to Dave that he killed "Just Ray" for implicating him in the liquor store robbery, which resulted in his imprisonment. Dave reveals to Jimmy that he did kill someone that night, but it was not Katie. He beat to death a child molester whom he found with a child prostitute. Jimmy does not believe Dave and pulls out a knife. He promises to let Dave live if he confesses to Katie's murder. However, when Dave admits to killing Katie, Jimmy kills him and disposes of his body in the adjacent Mystic River.

Meanwhile, after finding his father's gun missing, Brendan confronts his mute younger brother "Silent Ray" and his friend John O'Shea about Katie's murder. Brendan beats the two boys, trying to get them to admit their guilt, and then John pulls out Ray's gun and is about to shoot Brendan. Sean and Whitey, having connected the two boys to the murder, arrive and disarm and arrest John and Ray.

The next morning, Sean tells Jimmy that John and "Silent Ray" confessed to killing Katie as part of a prank gone wrong. Sean asks Jimmy if he has seen Dave, who is wanted for questioning in the murder of a known child molester. Jimmy does not answer, instead thanking Sean for finding Katie's killers, but remarks, "if only you'd been a little faster." Sean then asks Jimmy if he intends to send Celeste a monthly $500 as well.

Sean reunites with Lauren after apologizing for pushing her away while Jimmy confesses what he's done to Annabeth, who tells him he is "a king, and a king knows what to do and does it. Even when it's hard." During a local parade, Dave's son Michael waits for his father. Sean sees Jimmy and mimics a gunshot at him with his hand, whereas Jimmy spreads his arms in a “you got me” gesture.

Cast

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Production

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Michael Keaton was originally cast in the role of Det. Sean Devine, and did several script readings with the cast, as well as his own research into the practices of the Massachusetts Police Department.[4] However, creative differences between Keaton and Clint Eastwood led to Keaton leaving the production. He was replaced by Kevin Bacon.[5]

Principal photography took place on location in Boston.[5][6]

Release

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Critical response

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On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 204 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Anchored by the exceptional acting of its strong cast, Mystic River is a somber drama that unfolds in layers and conveys the tragedy of its story with visceral power."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on reviews from 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[9]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote "Clint Eastwood pours everything he knows about directing into Mystic River. His film sneaks up, messes with your head, and then floors you. You can't shake it. It's that haunting, that hypnotic."[10][11]

On September 8, 2003, David Edelstein wrote a long article for The New York Times with the headline: "Dirty Harry Wants to Say He's Sorry (Again)." The piece examines Mystic River in the context of Eastwood's entire oeuvre, praising his “evolution [into] cinema's […] sorrowful conscience”.[12]

Reviewing the film for The New York Times on October 3, 2003, A.O. Scott wrote a long review of this "mighty" work, at one point observing: "Dave's abduction is an act of inexplicable, almost metaphysical evil, and this story of guilt, grief and vengeance grows out of it like a mass of dark weeds. At its starkest, the film, like the novel by Dennis Lehane on which it is based, is a parable of incurable trauma, in which violence begets more violence and the primal violation of innocence can never be set right. Mystic River is the rare American movie that aspires to—and achieves—the full weight and darkness of tragedy."[13]

On October 12, 2003, The New York Times A. O. Scott wrote a piece headlined "Ms. Macbeth and her cousin: The women of Mystic River" which he opened with: "One of the most haunting scenes in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River—a film that consists almost entirely of haunting scenes—comes just before the end. The main dramatic action, we have every reason to suspect, is complete ... A long, climactic night of revelation and confrontation is over, and the weary streets of Boston are flooded with hard autumnal light. The break of day brings a new insight, one that has less to do with the facts of the story than with its meaning. All along, Mystic River has seemed, most obviously, to be about those three men ... But it turns out to be just as much about three (or more) damaged families, about the terror and mystery of marriage and about the fateful actions of two women."[14]

In the New York Times, on June 8, 2004, anticipating the DVD and CD release, Dave Kehr praised the film as "a symphonic study in contrasting voices and values. Long fascinated by music as a subject, ... Mr. Eastwood here creates a genuinely musical style, using his performers like soloists, from Mr. Robbins's moody baritone to Mr. Penn's spiky soprano. Their individual arias are incorporated into a magnificent choral piece".[15]

Box office

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The film earned $156,822,020 worldwide with $90,135,191 in the United States and $66,686,829 in the international box office, which is significantly higher than its $25–30 million budget.[2][3]

Accolades

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AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Academy AwardsFebruary 29, 2004Best PictureRobert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt and Clint EastwoodNominated[16]
Best DirectorClint EastwoodNominated
Best ActorSean PennWon
Best Supporting ActorTim RobbinsWon
Best Supporting ActressMarcia Gay HardenNominated
Best Adapted ScreenplayBrian HelgelandNominated
American Cinema Editors2004Best Edited Feature Film – DramaticJoel CoxNominated[17]
Art Directors GuildFebruary 2004Feature Film – Contemporary FilmHenry Bumstead and Jack G. Taylor Jr.Won[18]
BAFTA Film AwardsFebruary 15, 2004Best Actor in a Leading RoleSean PennNominated[19]
Best Actor in a Supporting RoleTim RobbinsNominated
Best Actress in a Supporting RoleLaura LinneyNominated
Best Screenplay – AdaptedBrian HelgelandNominated
Boston Society of Film CriticsDecember 14, 2003Best FilmWon[20]
Best EnsembleWon
Cannes Film FestivalMay 14 – 25, 2003Golden CoachClint EastwoodWon[21]
Casting Society of AmericaOctober 2004Feature FilmWon[22]
César AwardsFebruary 21, 2004Best Foreign FilmWon[23]
Critics' Choice AwardsJanuary 10, 2004Best PictureNominated[24][25]
Best DirectorClint EastwoodNominated
Best ActorSean PennWon
Best Supporting ActressMarcia Gay HardenNominated
Best Supporting ActorTim RobbinsWon
Best EnsembleNominated
Best ScreenplayBrian HelgelandNominated
Best ScoreClint EastwoodNominated
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics AssociationJanuary 2004Best ActorSean PennWon[26]
European Film Awards6 December 2003Best Non-European FilmNominated[27]
Florida Film Critics CircleJanuary 2, 2004Best ActorSean PennWon[28]
Best Supporting ActorTim RobbinsWon
Golden GlobesJanuary 25, 2004Best Motion Picture – DramaNominated[29]
Best Director – Motion PictureClint EastwoodNominated
Best Screenplay – Motion PictureBrian HelgelandNominated
Best Actor in a DramaSean PennWon
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureTim RobbinsWon
London Film Critics CircleFebruary 11, 2004Director of the YearClint EastwoodWon[30]
Actor of the YearSean PennWon
National Board of ReviewDecember 3, 2003Best FilmWon[31]
Best ActorSean PennWon
National Society of Film CriticsJanuary 3, 2004Best Film2nd Place[32]
Best DirectorClint EastwoodWon
Best ActorSean Penn2nd Place
Best Supporting ActorTim Robbins2nd Place
Best ScreenplayBrian Helgeland2nd Place
Satellite AwardsJanuary 23, 2004Best Drama FilmNominated[33]
Best DirectorClint EastwoodNominated
Best Actor – DramaSean PennWon
Best Supporting Actress – DramaMarcia Gay HardenNominated
Best Adapted ScreenplayBrian HelgelandWon
Best CinematographyTom SternNominated
Best EditingJoel CoxNominated
Best SoundAlan Robert Murray and Bub AsmanNominated
Screen Actors GuildFebruary 22, 2004Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Male ActorTim RobbinsWon[34]
Outstanding Performance by a Male ActorSean PennNominated
Outstanding EnsembleNominated
Vancouver Film Critics CircleFebruary 2, 2004Best ActorSean PennWon[35]
Writers Guild of AmericaFebruary 21, 2004Best Adapted ScreenplayBrian HelgelandNominated[36]

References

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  1. ^ "Mystic River (15)"British Board of Film Classification. September 10, 2003. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  2. Jump up to:a b c "Mystic River"Box Office MojoArchived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
  3. Jump up to:a b "Mystic River (2003) - Financial Information"The NumbersArchived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  4. ^ Gaughan, Liam (September 24, 2023). "Michael Keaton Almost Starred in This Oscar-Winning Clint Eastwood Film"Collider. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  5. Jump up to:a b Hughes 2009, p. 153.
  6. ^ Trivedi, Dhruv (April 30, 2021). "Where Was Mystic River Filmed?"The Cinemaholic. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "Mystic River"Rotten TomatoesArchived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "Mystic River Reviews"MetacriticArchived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Mystic River" in the search box)CinemaScoreArchived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Travers, Peter (September 25, 2003). "Mystic River"Rolling Stone.
  11. ^ Eliot 2009, p. 307.
  12. ^ Edelstein, David (September 28, 2003). "Dirty Harry Wants To Say He's Sorry (Again)"The New York TimesISSN 0362-4331Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Scott, A. O. (October 3, 2003). "FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; Dark Parable of Violence Avenged"The New York TimesISSN 0362-4331Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Scott, A. O. (October 12, 2003). "FILM; Ms. Macbeth and Her Cousin: The Women of 'Mystic River'"The New York TimesISSN 0362-4331Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  15. ^ Kehr, Dave (June 8, 2004). "NEW DVD'S; Looking Into a Dark River, Seeing the Shadow of Evil"The New York TimesISSN 0362-4331Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  16. ^ Hughes 2009, p. 155.
  17. ^ Dimond, Anna (February 14, 2013). "ACE Eddie noms show revealing splits from Oscars"VarietyArchived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  18. ^ Mitchell, Courtney (February 2004). "Art directors honor 'River' and 'Rings'"VarietyArchived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  19. ^ "Film in 2004"British Academy of Film and Television ArtsArchived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  20. ^ "Boston honors Mystic River, Translation"Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  21. ^ "Clint Eastwood: 60 years in film"The Daily Telegraph. October 2015. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  22. ^ Kamin, Debra (October 2004). "Kudos for casting"VarietyArchived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  23. ^ "Barbarian plunders top Cesar prizes"Screen Daily. February 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  24. ^ Feiwell, Jill (December 2003). "'Mystic,' 'In America' top B'cast Crix list"VarietyArchived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  25. ^ "US critics give Rings four awards"BBC News. 11 January 2004. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  26. ^ "Charlize Theron honored by Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics for Monster"The Advocate. January 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  27. ^ Meza, Ed (December 7, 2003). "'Lenin' storms the house at Berlin's EFAs"VarietyArchived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  28. ^ "2003 FFCC Award Winners"Florida Film Critics Circle. January 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  29. ^ "Mystic River"Hollywood Foreign Press AssociationArchived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  30. ^ "Master And Commander sails off with London Critics awards"Screen Daily. February 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  31. ^ "National Board of Review Says "Mystic River" is Tops For 2003"IndieWire. December 2003. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  32. ^ "Critics society names 'Splendor' best film"Chicago Tribune. January 5, 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  33. ^ "8th Annual Satellite Awards"International Press Academy. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  34. ^ "SAG Swept Away by "Mystic River""E! Online. January 15, 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  35. ^ "4th Annual Award Winners"Vancouver Film Critics Circle. 2 February 2004. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  36. ^ "SAG, WGA awards lead into Oscar"CNN. February 20, 2004. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2019.

Bibliography

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