\A river blanketed in fog holds many secrets in its waters.""
Clint Eastwood's foreboding voice fills the background with these words as the camera pans over a small town. He tells about the connection between three people in the town who are reunited by fear. This mysterious beginning is what producer Eastwood offers viewers in ""Mystic River.""
""Mystic River"" delves into this connection among old friends in a murder mystery. Inspired by Dennis Lehane's book, the story begins with the three main characters as kids playing hockey in the street. What starts as child's play ends up with Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) getting coerced into a car with two men. The boys go their separate ways, rarely speaking after that point. An unexpected reunion brings the film to the future.
The boys are now adults and are linked to the murder of Jimmy's (Sean Penn) daughter. Jimmy is clearly heartbroken by his daughter's death yet still shows a sense of levelheaded determination to justify it. This comes from his criminal past that continues to influence his behavior throughout the film. In the end, Penn brilliantly jumps into the role of a dedicated father who would do anything for his family in times of crisis.
As the case unfolds, Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) and his partner Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne) work the case with precision and skill. The intelligent dialogue between the two explains, in detail, the evidence and suspects they gather throughout the case. The tension between characters rises as the facts foreshadowed in the beginning of the film are discovered. It is this tension that makes the movie so gripping because it matches the overwhelming suspicion among characters.
A carefully calculated tactic that movie producers use is letting the audience in on information that the characters are unaware of. ""Mystic River"" facilitates this idea. This is a smart move because the audience is given the home-team advantage by hearing the facts first, while characters are left wondering. A lot of this information has to do with the evidence dug up by Devine and Powers. Their teamwork used in the case is refreshing and captivating.
Although Eastwood could have resorted to making an average ""who done it"" film, ""Mystic River"" challenges both thought and emotion. The well-developed characters leave viewers torn between who they will relate to and who they will believe in. When most murder mysteries develop plot with speedy scene changes and over-exaggerated gore, ""Mystic River"" uses dialogue and emotion to both enchant and intrigue.
