Mystic River
2003 · Movie · R · 138 min · ★ 7.7 · 87% critics
Three childhood friends reunite years later when a devastating family tragedy strikes their tight-knit Boston neighborhood. As a murder investigation unfolds, old wounds resurface, loyalties are tested, and the search for answers forces everyone to confront grief, guilt, and the blurry line between justice and revenge.
Based on Mystic River
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Details
- Years
- 2003
- Release date
- 2003-10-08
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 138 min
- Critic score
- 87/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.7/10 (7,467 votes)
- Box office
- $156,595,191
- Budget
- $25,000,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a heavy, character-focused crime mystery about trauma, grief, and hard choices, with a tense, somber mood like Prisoners or Gone Girl; Not for you if you prefer lighter stories or fast-paced thrills.
Pros: intense performances; gripping moral dilemmas; steadily rising tension | Cons: very grim tone; slow, deliberate pacing; can feel overlong
Themes
- child abuse
- sexual abuse
- workers' quarter
- based on novel or book
- loss of loved one
- suppressed past
- boston, massachusetts
- repayment
- arbitrary law
- loyalty
- massachusetts
- whodunit
- +9 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Actor · 2004
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actor · 2004
- International Cinephile Society Award — Best Ensemble · 2004
- César Award — Best Foreign Film
- National Board of Review Award — Best Film
Show all 16 awards →
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 2004 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 2004 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actress · 2004 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Director · 2004 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actor · 2004 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Actor · 2004 · nominated
- International Cinephile Society Award — Best Actor · 2004 · nominated
- International Cinephile Society Award — Best Film · 2004 · nominated
- International Cinephile Society Award — Best Supporting Actress · 2004 · nominated
- European Film Award — Best Non-European Film · 2003 · nominated
Cast & crew
Sean Penn
as Jimmy Markum
Tim Robbins
as Dave Boyle
Kevin Bacon
as Sean Devine
Laurence Fishburne
as Whitey Powers
Marcia Gay Harden
as Celeste Boyle
Laura Linney
as Annabeth Markum
Kevin Chapman
as Val Savage
Tom Guiry
as Brendan Harris
Emmy Rossum
as Katie Markum
Spencer Treat Clark
as Silent Ray Harris
Directed by Clint Eastwood