Mystic River (Exclusive Series) (HBO Max) (Netflix)

Initial release date: October 8, 2003

Studios: Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Malpaso

Tagline: We bury our sins, we wash them clean

Plot: When the daughter of ex-con Jimmy Markum is murdered, two of his childhood friends from the neighborhood are involved. Dave, a blue-collar worker, was the last person to see her alive, while Sean, a homicide detective, is heading up the case. As Sean proceeds with his investigation, Jimmy conducts one of his own through neighborhood contacts. Eventually, Jimmy considers taking the law into his own hands.

Cast

Sean Penn (The Gunman) - Jimmy Markum

Tim Robbins (Dark Waters) - Dave Boyle

Kevin Bacon (You Should Have Left) - Sean Devine

Laurence Fishburne (Netflix’s The Ice Road) - Whitey Powers

Laura Linnney (Netflix’s Ozark) - Annabeth Markum

Marcia Gay Harden (Apple’s Mornign Show) - Celeste Boyle

Kevin Chapman (City of Lies) - Val Savage

Tom Guiry (The Revenant) - Brandon Harris

Emmy Rossum (Shameless) - Katie Markum

Spencer Treat Clark (Glass) - Silent Ray Harris

Writer: Brian Helgeland (Legend; 42; Robin Hood)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Rated R for language and violence (138 min)

The 2003 Clint Eastwood-directed feature ‘Mystic River’ is definitely one of the most powerful and emotional films Eastwood has directed.

All of the performances are exceptionally incredible, especially from Sean Penn. The scene where he finds out his daughter’s dead is beyond emotional. There are quite a few moments that are really compelling and even a bit suspenseful.

A good amount of the film is pretty much a psychological drama and focuses on how certain characters are affected by the tragic death of Markum’s (Penn’s character) daughter. The ending of the film is riveting and concludes the feature perfectly.

You can check out ‘Mystic River’ on either HBO Max or Netflix.

Here are a few tidbits about ‘Mystic River’:

• The situation at the opening of the movie is based on an incident when, as a child, author Dennis Lehane’s mother severely reprimanded him for getting into a car with men who claimed to be plain clothes policemen.

• The studio execs at WB wanted Eastwood to shoot this movie in Toronto to save money. Eastwood refused and pushed to have this movie completely shot in Boston where it’s set.

• For the scene where Jimmy Markum wails and thrashes in anguish at the discovery of Katie’s body, Sean Penn requested that a tank of oxygen be standing by after he finished the take.

• The film earned $156,822,020 worldwide with $90.1 million in the US alone.

https://youtu.be/W7NktJhrRYQ