History Literature / MysticRiver

A 2001 novel by Creator/DennisLehane, ''Mystic River'' was brought to the screen in 2003 by director Creator/ClintEastwood. The film version starred Creator/SeanPenn and Tim Robbins, who both won Oscars for their roles, and Creator/KevinBacon and Creator/LaurenceFishburne.

A 2001 novel by Creator/DennisLehane, ''Mystic River'' was brought to the screen in 2003 by director Creator/ClintEastwood. The film version starred Creator/SeanPenn and Tim Robbins, who both won Oscars for their roles, and KevinBacon and Creator/LaurenceFishburne.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Sean and Whitey. Creator/LaurenceFishburne even said in an interview "This is a film about three men and their wives - I play KevinBacon's wife."

* BeleaguredChildhoodFriend: Jimmy is this to Sean.

** Jimmy comments later in the film that they are all still locked in the car, and Sean and Jimmy reflect on what would have happened if they'd gotten in the car.

** There's also Dave, who clearly wants/needs to cry in certain scenes (particularly the scene where he accuses his wife of thinking he was the murderer), but displays blunted emotions and so comes across as [[TheSociopath a sociopath]]. Its also an example of ShownTheirWork, because people with trauma issues often can't cry even when they want to, and will also tend to dissociate or become [[TheEmotionlessGirl alexithymic]] in the presence of a stressor.

* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: the film suggests that Dave killed Jimmy's daughter because of the four days in the hut.
** Dave himself is fixated on the idea that he is becoming a monster ( he uses the metaphor of becoming a werewolf or a vampire, with the implication being that he's scared of becoming a paedophile or a murderer). At the end of the film, it is revealed that [[spoiler: he killed a child molester the night of Jimmy's daughter's death, and was trying to communicate this information to his wife]].

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Given that the police and child services knew what happened to Dave, he must have spent a lot of time in therapy as a child. Given this, it's surprising how he was never taught any coping skills and can't articulate what is happening to him more clearly.

** Subverted and justified throughout the film, really. Dave acts in bizarre and suspicious ways throughout the film, with the implication being that his trauma issues have been made worse by the events of the night of the murder, and because the intense shame and isolation he feels as a former victim of child abuse means that he can't communicate what really happened in a way other people understand.

** There's also Dave, who clearly wants/needs to cry in certain scenes (particularly the scene where he accuses his wife of thinking he was the murderer, and talks about being a vampire), but has blunted emotions due to trauma and so comes across as [[TheSociopath a sociopath]].

* AdaptationNameChange: One of the protagonist's surnames is changed from "Marcus" in the book to "Markum" in the film.

* DarkAndTroublePast: The storyline hinges on one of the main characters being abducted as a child, and how this event impacted their adult lives.

** The two brothers that Jimmy hires to commit crimes are also extremely close to one another.

** Jimmy comments later in the film that they are all still locked in the car.

* DawsonCasting: Jimmy, Dave and Sean are supposed to be in their mid-thirties but the actors playing them appear to be in their forties.

* TortureMakesYouEvil: the film suggests that Dave killed Jimmy's daughter because of the four days in the hut.
* Dave himself is fixated on the idea that he is becoming a monster ( he uses the metaphor of becoming a werewolf or a vampire, with the implication being that he's scared of becoming a paedophile or a murderer). At the end of the film, it is revealed that [[spoiler: he killed a child molester the night of Jimmy's daughter's death, and had been trying to communicate this information to his wife]].

* BittersweetEnding: Sure, they catch the killer, but [[spoiler:it's just a kid after a prank went wrong, and Jimmy kills Dave because he thinks ''he'' did it.]]

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Jimmy makes this decision at the end of the story, coming out of his retirement to seize control of Boston's criminal underworld.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Dave could have saved his own life by offering to show Jimmy the body of the child molester he killed, to verify his story. Justified, in that Dave was more afraid of the part of himself that drove him to kill the child molester than he was of Jimmy killing him.]]

* AntiHero: Jimmy Marcus/Markum.

A 2001 novel by Creator/DennisLehane, ''Mystic River'' was brought to the screen in 2003 by director Creator/ClintEastwood. The film version starred Creator/SeanPenn and Tim Robbins, who both won Oscars for their roles, and KevinBacon and LaurenceFishburne.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Sean and Whitey. LaurenceFishburne even said in an interview "This is a film about three men and their wives - I play KevinBacon's wife."

* RaceLift: Sgt. Powers, played by LaurenceFishburne in the movie, was white in the book. For extra irony, the character's ''name'' is ''Whitey Powers'', which Dennis Lehane admits was an IncrediblyLamePun that became even funnier when Fishburne was cast.

A 2001 novel by DennisLehane, ''Mystic River'' was brought to the screen in 2003 by director Creator/ClintEastwood. The film version starred Creator/SeanPenn and Tim Robbins, who both won Oscars for their roles, and KevinBacon and LaurenceFishburne.

* HeyItsThatGuy: The doomed daughter Katie is [[TheDayAfterTomorrow Emmy]] [[Film/DragonballEvolution Rossum]], the guy tending Jimmy's shop is [[CSIMiami Mr. Wolfe]] - and one of the kidnappers in the prologue is [[TheWire Lieutenant Rawls]].

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Jimmy makes this decision at the end of the story.

A 2001 novel by DennisLehane, ''Mystic River'' was brought to the screen in 2003 by director ClintEastwood. The film version starred Creator/SeanPenn and Tim Robbins, who both won Oscars for their roles, and KevinBacon and LaurenceFishburne.

* SchrodingersButterfly: It's suggested at the end of the film that [[spoiler:all three boys have dreamed the whole thing, and that they're still being molested. The character in question is pretty well off his rocker, however, and this was not part of the original book.]]

* LadyMacbeth: [[spoiler:Jimmy's wife Annabeth, after he murders Dave.]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: The doomed daughter Katie is [[TheDayAfterTomorrow Emmy]] [[DragonballEvolution Rossum]], the guy tending Jimmy's shop is [[CSIMiami Mr. Wolfe]] - and one of the kidnappers in the prologue is [[TheWire Lieutenant Rawls]].

A 2001 novel by DennisLehane, ''Literature/MysticRiver'' was brought to the screen in 2003 by director ClintEastwood. The film version starred Creator/SeanPenn and Tim Robbins, who both won Oscars for their roles, and KevinBacon and LaurenceFishburne.

A 2001 novel by DennisLehane, ''MysticRiver'' was brought to the screen in 2003 by director ClintEastwood. The film version starred Creator/SeanPenn and Tim Robbins, who both won Oscars for their roles, and KevinBacon and LaurenceFishburne.