::READERS REVIEWS::

Dark and Powerful - Mystic River is a dark, powerful tale of lives lost. Three young neighborhood boys, Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), and Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) grow up with a bad memory of a day that changed their lives forever. As young boys, they played in the streets enjoying carefree time together. Two strange men, one posing as a policeman force Dave into their car and kidnap him for four long horrific days.

This point in time changed their lives forever.

Mystic River brings the grown men together with the murder of Jimmy's 19 year old daughter. Sean has become a cop and had grown apart from Jimmy, who had spent some time in jail for criminal activity. Laurence Fishburne plays Sean's partner and they are puzzled by the strange and violent murder of Jimmy's daughter. The clues show she was planning on getting married to a neighbor boy that Jimmy cannot stand. There are secrets to Jimmy's hatred of the boy, and secrets around him and his mute, dependant younger brother.

Meanwhile, Dave is living in the neighborhood too, with a young son and lovely wife, but carries the dark memories of his childhood constantly on his shoulders. He has never been the same since his car ride and imprisonment by two pedophiles for four days. Slowly, Julie's death is connected to Dave by some odd circumstances, and paranoia starts to run high with Jimmy. Dave changes his alibi the night of the murder several times, and Jimmy fears he had something to do with it.

The movie gradually peels away the layers of hurt, past friendships, family ties and the sad story of lost innocence.

Mystic River is deeply moving and powerful.

so true to life - I have seen this movie several times and each time there is something new about the characters to learn and understand.
I love movies that are character driven and this one is great

Mystic River (Full Screen Edition) - During a summer in 1975, Dave Boyle and two friends, Jimmy and Sean, are playing on a sidewalk in Boston when Dave is abducted by two men and subjected to sexual abuse over a period of several days. Eventually escaping, but haunted into adulthood by his trauma, Dave becomes a primary suspect when Jimmy's daughter, Katie, is found murdered. Sean, assigned to investigate the crime, finds himself facing both demons from the past and demons in the present as the circumstances surrounding Katie's death are uncovered. "Mystic River" is a surprisingly dark movie, with a controversial denouement. It is masterfully directed, acted, shot, edited, lit and scored. It is a mostly humorless and occasionally difficult realist drama, that will undoubtedly affect most viewers emotionally in a variety of ways. The story is absorbing. "Mystic River" is a impressive achievement for those who made it and a rich, memorable experience for those who see it.

The River holds many secrets... - Mystic River DVD Review
2 Disc Widescreen Edition (2003)

Mystic River cleaned up and won Academy awards for Best Actor - Sean Penn, and Best Supporting Actor - Tim Robbins and was nominated for everything else you can think of. It did not, however win Best Picture. Directed by Clint Eastwood from the novel written by Dennis Lehane, Mystic River is about three childhood friends who after a tragic incident grow up to be a cop, a victim, and a suspect.

This movie can feel very slow in the pacing and action. It takes a while for events to pick up and characters to start opening up. The feel of the movie and accuracy helps set the location very well. Everything is dark and in blues like the river. The ensemble cast is a big who's who of a generation in Hollywood. Since Clint Eastwood prefers to get everything done in one or two shots, you know actors had to step up their game and that makes the performances a little more impressive.

I'm a fan of Tim Robbins, mostly because of The Shawshank Redemption. He just always finds a way to look so.......haunted. He plays a quiet, kinda crazy guy who was sexually abused as child when he was kidnapped and held prisoner in a cellar for four days. Now he's grown with a wife and child and comes home at 3 a.m. one night with blood on his hands. His facial expressions and tone of voice are so eerie. His character is a pathological liar because the time he told the truth when his friends lied, he was made into a victim. Now in any threatening situation, he lies to stay safe and it makes him even more of a suspect.

Sean Penn's daughter played by Emmy Rossum (who is beautiful and innocent as always, this was her first notable role in a big film) is found to have been murdered. Penn does a heart-breaking job screaming over and over again, "Is that my daughter in there?" Honestly, he gets it in about ten times and has to be restrained by like seven guys to avoid going to see her body where they found it. He brings out the raw emotion at the drop of a hat and his performance is very compelling.

Their other childhood friend, Kevin Bacon is one of the investigating cops along with Laurence Fishburne and they (of course) try to piece together the puzzle and find out what happened. There's a side mystery of his silent wife who calls him and says nothing which is sad but unessential to the core of the film. Bacon walking the line between victim's parent and suspect being his childhood friends is quite the feat. While they are not close any longer, under every conversation is a vast canyon of history that is addressed in subtext.

Marcia Gay Harden plays Tim Robbins's wife and stays in the background looking worried and scared most of the movie. Laura Linney plays a great grieving stepmother and makes a big character turn that comes out of left field at the end of the movie. To avoid any spoilers for those who haven't seen it, the movie really could have ended after the main action when Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon were talking in the street. But no, it continues to show more aftermath conversations and a parade. I guess it is to set up the audience choosing in their minds what happened to the characters later, but it's really so ambiguous it feels like overkill. The comparison of marital relationships from which is most loving to which is most likely to last is interestingly ironic.

This movie is good....but it just isn't THAT good. It has some beautiful individual performances but as a package, loses my interest at points. I guess the Academy and I have different standards......then again, it didn't win Best Picture now did it?

DVD Extras:

There are two featurettes, "Beneath the Surface" and "From Page to Screen" that go over the casting of the movie, production details, Eastwood's one-take style of directing, and the accuracies of where they shot the movie. The writer points out that they started shooting about a block and half away from where he wrote the book. Also the writer was very concerned that all these Hollywood actors would sound different than how he heard his characters in his head, but that they mastered their accents and characters well to his imagination. There are full-length interviews from "The Charlie Rose Show" that into detail with Clint Eastwood, Kevin Bacon, and Tim Robbins. No Sean Penn? The part of the extras I enjoyed the most was commentary with Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon. I always enjoy actor commentary the most since I have a background in acting in theatre and film myself. They break down some of the scenes and reveal a little more about motivations for why certain things were done and are just interesting to listen to if you are fans of their work. This edition also includes a complete CD soundtrack which I did not have the pleasure of checking out because the copy I had was from the library and didn't include it. Bleah!

annnnnnnnd i'm BACKKKKK ! (with my post-viewing review) - first, a recapping of my previous review before i had actually watched it:

hi ! ! :D how are you?!?
i haven't watched Mystic River yet... but i have my copy and am about to... (i will soon come back with a review)
i just find it funny how many negative reviews (there's good ones too!!) complain about how negative/repulsive etc. the movie is (like people were expecting some sunny tap dance musical or something with rainbows and smiley-face sparklies shooting out of every corner and orifice ... and/or funnier yet, they are appalled at how this movie didn't drastically change their lives on some sort of geo-spiritual epiphany level...
wow... what were they expecting. lol. it's a movie. lol. :D it's kind of like entertainment sometimes... lol.
(i suppose that some movies are made just for raking in money ... or who knows maybe some are even meant to drastically alter peoples lives on a geo-spiritual epiphany level ! :D lol. i own a couple of those. lol :D but who knows)
if you really want to change your life that bad maybe you could go to church :D lol
watch cartoons or something :D until recently they were pretty cheery/upbeat/colorful :D
(until the whole ren and stimpy thing kicked in)
there must be some documentaries out there about different branches of hindu islam judeo something or other religion-ism that could possibly alter your spiritual/mental paridigm... if you wanted to do that...
heck... for me the Home Alone movies changed me and my way of life forever :D and i'm not sure they were even supposed to, i just like them very much :D
myself i know when i watch a movie that it might be realistically negative occasionally...
or even disturbing. depending usually on the warnings on the back of the dvd case :D
i just think this makes for funny reading :D
at any rate... i will be back soon with my review of Mystic River ! :D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW!!~ as promised... back i am with my post-viewed review:

Wow. I agree!! this movie IS a little way too serious and negative/sombre/moody.
and... it's quite a bit bluish tinged, or is it just me??
there are quite a few 'blue' movies out there.
colorwise speaking.
i now understand why reviewers kept saying it was too serious or dark and soo traumatic on them
in that way.
well ~ yes this movie DOES seem to be one of those movies that takes itself a little too seriously.
it's like the director (oops would that be clint eastwood) told everyone the #1 rule of thumb was to not smile or laugh or joke ONCE thru the movie.
i think somewhere in there someone does do a quick grin or something, in a couple parts.
well i have never read the novel, so i can't judge the original source, but
i am glad i have this movie. I have tendencies to want to go back and watch it for reasons i can't explain, the atmosphere, etc. every once in a while, but
really i'm not sure what the movie takes itself so darn seriously for.
sean penn ends up playing ironically a temperamental jerk in this role, eventually.
not a bad movie. i'm just not sure what it was trying to say or if it was just supposed to be
self-righteous and 'admirable'.

Dark and disturbing. - This movie was well done. It was also dark and disturbing. Mystic River showed what can happen when a frustrated man takes the law into his own hands after his daughter is murdered. I thought the ending was sad. I won't give too much away; this movie is definitely worth watching. I'm glad I finally saw it.

Pretentious but powerful tragedy.... - I'll admit it's been a while since I've seen Mystic River in the movie theater. While initially my impression of the film was disgust(especially with the ending) I've recently picked up the DVD and watched it again with a new perspective. Mystic River is pretentious with it's self-importance and some will still argue whether or not the hype (and subsequent Academy Awards) is justified, however the honesty and emotions running through the film make it one of the more memorable films of it's time.

Mystic River is basically a melodramatic tragedy about three friends and how their actions effect the people around them. Sean's a cop, Jimmy's an ex-con, and Dave's their friend who was sexually molested when they were all kids. The movie centers around the murder of Jimmy's daughter and the actions the three friends take to deal with it. There's alot more to the story of these damaged characters and the film mostly focuses on their personal lives rather than the murder investigation itself. The movie's very raw and there is no happy ending for any of these characters. It's a very cynical story, but Clint Eastwood films Mystic River like an overbearing melodrama with over-the-top acting, camera work and music which at times is really unnecessary and gives the movie an accelerated sense of self-importance (which in my opinion is VERY annoying). I think Mystic River would've benefited with a more documentary approach and better shots of Boston (since it was supposedly filmed on location).

The acting, while sometimes over-the-top is very solid and believeable. Sean Penn is well cast as Jimmy and while the scene of him finding out his daughter's dead is waaaaaay over-blown his quiet intensity rings true through the rest of the film. Tim Robbins is perfectly simpathetic as the tortured Dave and you really feel terrible about what happens to him at the end of the movie. Kevin Bacon is a great actor but I felt Sean was a bit underused as a character though I can understand since most of his actions in the novel focused on him investigating Jimmy's daughter's murder and again the film is more about the character's personal lives.

The one bit of this movie that feels like a giant misfire is in how the ending is handled. SPOILER ALERT!----------

As I said in my opening I was disgusted and quite outraged with the ending of the film because in a lot of ways it seems to try and justify Jimmy's actions. Jimmy isn't supposed to be likeable despite the fact he really feels he's doing the right thing. I also hated how it de-humanized Dave and made his murder at Jimmy's hands seem "all for the best" with Sean's dismissiveness (in the novel Sean's much more progressive about the situation). It sort of gives the feeling that Dave deserved to die simply for being a child-rape victim. It certainly didn't help when Laurence Fishburne's character claiming Dave should be locked away simply for being a victim of sexual abuse. Sort of spreads the message that sexual abuse victims are less than human.

I like to think this was just a misstep on the filmmakers. I like to think what happens to Dave in the end is just part of the human tragedy of the story and NOT trying to justify Jimmy's actions as a concerned parent. I don't think Jimmy and Sean's actions in the end are unbelieveable though. Jimmy's done far worse in the past so obviously what he did isn't going to haunt him for too long. Sean's too caught up with his wife and kid and despite knowing what Jimmy did feels no matter what he does now can only make a bad situation worse by going after Jimmy. It's not a satisfying ending nor do I think it's meant to be. It is however very believeable and I think that's what the filmmakers were trying for.

So while Mystic River is far from the flawless masterpiece it claims to be it is a very powerful film. I can't say everyone will enjoy it, but it's a movie that no one will forget.

Pretentious but powerful tragedy.... - I'll admit it's been a while since I've seen Mystic River in the movie theater. While initially my impression of the film was disgust(especially with the ending) I've recently picked up the DVD and watched it again with a new perspective. Mystic River is pretentious with it's self-importance and some will still argue whether or not the hype (and subsequent Academy Awards) is justified, however the honesty and emotions running through the film make it one of the more memorable films of it's time.

Mystic River is basically a melodramatic tragedy about three friends and how their actions effect the people around them. Sean's a cop, Jimmy's an ex-con, and Dave's their friend who was sexually molested when they were all kids. The movie centers around the murder of Jimmy's daughter and the actions the three friends take to deal with it. There's alot more to the story of these damaged characters and the film mostly focuses on their personal lives rather than the murder investigation itself. The movie's very raw and there is no happy ending for any of these characters. It's a very cynical story, but Clint Eastwood films Mystic River like an overbearing melodrama with over-the-top acting, camera work and music which at times is really unnecessary and gives the movie an accelerated sense of self-importance (which in my opinion is VERY annoying). I think Mystic River would've benefited with a more documentary approach and better shots of Boston (the movie's called 'Mystic River', why not show more of it?).

The acting, while sometimes over-the-top is very solid and believeable. Sean Penn is well cast as Jimmy and while the scene of him finding out his daughter's dead is waaaaaay over-blown his quiet intensity rings true through the rest of the film. Tim Robbins is perfectly simpathetic as the tortured Dave and you really feel terrible about what happens to him at the end of the movie. Kevin Bacon is a great actor but I felt Sean was a bit underused as a character though I can understand since most of his actions in the novel focused on him investigating Jimmy's daughter's murder and again the film is more about the character's personal lives.

The one bit of this movie that feels like a giant misfire is in how the ending is handled. SPOILER ALERT!----------

As I said in my opening I was disgusted and quite outraged with the ending of the film because in a lot of ways it seems to try and justify Jimmy's actions. Jimmy isn't supposed to be likeable despite the fact he really feels he's doing the right thing. I also hated how it de-humanized Dave and made his murder at Jimmy's hands seem "all for the best" with Sean's dismissiveness (in the novel Sean's much more progressive about the situation). It sort of gives the feeling that Dave deserved to die simply for being a child-rape victim. It certainly didn't help when Laurence Fishburne's character claiming Dave should be locked away simply for being a victim of sexual abuse. Sort of spreads the message that sexual abuse victims are less than human.

I like to think this was just a misstep on the filmmakers part thanks to Clint Eastwoods more sensationalist direction. I like to think what happens to Dave in the end is just part of the human tragedy of the story and NOT trying to justify Jimmy's actions as a concerned parent. I don't think Jimmy and Sean's actions in the end are unbelieveable though. Jimmy's done far worse in the past so obviously what he did isn't going to haunt him for too long. Sean's too caught up with his wife and kid and despite knowing what Jimmy did feels no matter what he does now can only make a bad situation worse by going after Jimmy. It's not a satisfying ending nor do I think it's meant to be. It is however very believeable and I think that's what the filmmakers were trying for.

So while Mystic River is far from the flawless masterpiece it claims to be it is a very powerful film. I can't say everyone will enjoy it, but it's a movie that no one will forget.

Pretentious but powerful tragedy.... - I'll admit it's been a while since I've seen Mystic River in the movie theater. While initially my impression of the film was disgust(especially with the ending) I've recently picked up the DVD and watched it again with a new perspective. Mystic River is pretentious with it's self-importance and some will still argue whether or not the hype (and subsequent Academy Awards) is justified, however the honesty and emotions running through the film make it one of the more memorable films of it's time.

Mystic River is basically a melodramatic tragedy about three friends and how their actions effect the people around them. Sean's a cop, Jimmy's an ex-con, and Dave's their friend who was sexually molested when they were all kids. The movie centers around the murder of Jimmy's daughter and the actions the three friends take to deal with it. There's alot more to the story of these damaged characters and the film mostly focuses on their personal lives rather than the murder investigation itself. The movie's very raw and there is no happy ending for any of these characters. It's a very cynical story, but Clint Eastwood films Mystic River like an overbearing melodrama with over-the-top acting, camera work and music which at times is really unnecessary and gives the movie an accelerated sense of self-importance (which in my opinion is VERY annoying). I think Mystic River would've benefited with a more documentary approach and better shots of Boston (the movie's called 'Mystic River', why not show more of it?).

The acting, while sometimes over-the-top is very solid and believeable. Sean Penn is well cast as Jimmy and while the scene of him finding out his daughter's dead is waaaaaay over-blown his quiet intensity rings true through the rest of the film. Tim Robbins is perfectly simpathetic as the tortured Dave and you really feel terrible about what happens to him at the end of the movie. Kevin Bacon is a great actor but I felt Sean was a bit underused as a character though I can understand since most of his actions in the novel focused on him investigating Jimmy's daughter's murder and again the film is more about the character's personal lives.

The one bit of this movie that feels like a giant misfire is in how the ending is handled. SPOILER ALERT!----------

As I said in my opening I was disgusted and quite outraged with the ending of the film because in a lot of ways it seems to try and justify Jimmy's actions. Jimmy isn't supposed to be likeable despite the fact he really feels he's doing the right thing. I also hated how it de-humanized Dave and made his murder at Jimmy's hands seem "all for the best" with Sean's dismissiveness (in the novel Sean's much more progressive about the situation). It sort of gives the feeling that Dave deserved to die simply for being a child-rape victim. It certainly didn't help when Laurence Fishburne's character claiming Dave should be locked away simply for being a victim of sexual abuse. Sort of spreads the message that sexual abuse victims are less than human.

I like to think this was just a misstep on the filmmakers part thanks to Clint Eastwoods more sensationalist direction. I like to think what happens to Dave in the end is just part of the human tragedy of the story and NOT trying to justify Jimmy's actions as a concerned parent. I don't think Jimmy and Sean's actions in the end are unbelieveable though. Jimmy's already murdered someone before so obviously what he did isn't going to haunt him for too long. Sean's too caught up with his wife and kid and despite knowing what Jimmy did feels no matter what he does now can only make a bad situation worse by going after Jimmy(or maybe he does? The ending's a bit ambiguous). It's not a satisfying ending nor do I think it's meant to be. It is however very believeable and I think that's what the filmmakers were trying for.

So while Mystic River is far from the flawless masterpiece it claims to be it is a very powerful film. I can't say everyone will enjoy it, but it's a movie that no one will forget.

Why so serious? - Listen, I am all for the depressing and brooding dramas that tend to infiltrate my own video library. I love a film that captures the darkness in life. That said, there is a fine line a film must be cautious not to cross before it loses the naturalness needed to convey the raw emotions it is attempting to stir up. `Mystic River' is so dark and so stern in its delivery that it becomes pretentious.

The film tells the story of three friends, born and raised Boston, who witness (and suffer) a terrible crime in their youth that leaves them all scared to varying degrees. In their adulthood, they have all taken separate paths but they are soon all going to be thrown back into one another's lives when a murder shakes their community, and their families, to the core. After the murder the lives of these three men (two of them in particular) spirals out of control in a sea of crime, abuse, accusations and murder.

From beginning to end, this film wears an impenetrable frown.

One of the films major disappointments comes in the form of its `all too highly praised' cast. The acting in this film is far from three-dimensional, which is a big detraction from this film. A film of this nature (one that is drenched in turmoil) needs to have characters that feel real and relatable and fully fleshed out. Outside of Dave Boyle (portrayed with ambiguous fervor by Tim Robbins), this film is inhabited with mere caricatures. Actresses Laura Linney and Miss Harden (two VERY fine actresses) are saddled with characters who seem stuck in one solitary note, never wavering from their immediate emotional stance. Kevin Bacon has one of the films more poignant character arcs, yet his character is given nothing more than a side-glance by the director, who seems less concerned with allowing us to feel the weight of the story's core and more concerned with lathering us up with wet and sticky distress. And then you have OSCAR WINNER Sean Penn who hams up the screen with such an uneven and unfocused variation of emotional disturbance. I'm actually offended at the praise this performance has garnered, for it lacks any and all subtlety, which is needed to make this character remotely believable. Instead of layering Jimmy, Penn went to `easy' route and just saddled him with expected emotional outbursts that diminish his character's authenticity.

This film kind of makes me mad the more I think about it.

In the end, I just can't muster up a reason to recommend this to anyone. I found Tim Robbins to be heartbreaking and sincere, even if I found his characters eventual arc to be a tad lazy. I, in fact, hated the films ending, NOT because it was frustrating or `unfair' but because it wasn't explored or given the attention needed to flesh out its poignant message. I can see it there, under the surface, waiting to make itself known, but Clint Eastwood obviously couldn't be bothered with making this film `important'.

Why so serious? - Listen, I am all for the depressing and brooding dramas that tend to infiltrate my own video library. I love a film that captures the darkness in life. That said, there is a fine line a film must be cautious not to cross before it loses the naturalness needed to convey the raw emotions it is attempting to stir up. `Mystic River' is so dark and so stern in its delivery that it becomes pretentious.

The film tells the story of three friends, born and raised Boston, who witness (and suffer) a terrible crime in their youth that leaves them all scarred to varying degrees. In their adulthood, they have all taken separate paths but they are soon all going to be thrown back into one another's lives when a murder shakes their community, and their families, to the core. After the murder the lives of these three men (two of them in particular) spirals out of control in a sea of crime, abuse, accusations and murder.

From beginning to end, this film wears an impenetrable frown.

One of the films major disappointments comes in the form of its `all too highly praised' cast. The acting in this film is far from three-dimensional, which is a big detraction from this film. A film of this nature (one that is drenched in turmoil) needs to have characters that feel real and relatable and fully fleshed out. Outside of Dave Boyle (portrayed with ambiguous fervor by Tim Robbins), this film is inhabited with mere caricatures. Actresses Laura Linney and Miss Harden (two VERY fine actresses) are saddled with characters who seem stuck in one solitary note, never wavering from their immediate emotional stance. Kevin Bacon has one of the films more poignant character arcs, yet his character is given nothing more than a side-glance by the director, who seems less concerned with allowing us to feel the weight of the story's core and more concerned with lathering us up with wet and sticky distress. And then you have OSCAR WINNER Sean Penn who hams up the screen with such an uneven and unfocused variation of emotional disturbance. I'm actually offended at the praise this performance has garnered, for it lacks any and all subtlety, which is needed to make this character remotely believable. Instead of layering Jimmy, Penn went to `easy' route and just saddled him with expected emotional outbursts that diminish his character's authenticity.

This film kind of makes me mad the more I think about it.

In the end, I just can't muster up a reason to recommend this to anyone. I found Tim Robbins to be heartbreaking and sincere, even if I found his characters eventual arc to be a tad lazy. I, in fact, hated the films ending, NOT because it was frustrating or `unfair' but because it wasn't explored or given the attention needed to flesh out its poignant message. I can see it there, under the surface, waiting to make itself known, but Clint Eastwood obviously couldn't be bothered with making this film `important'.

One of the most overrated films of the past decade - Clint Eastwood is a master. He is a great actor and he is a great director. However, even the best directors make the occasional mediocre film, and that is what happens here.

The plot is both overly melodramatic and utterly predictable. I don't want to give too much away, but the film is concerned with the murder of Sean Penn's character's daughter, and it is obvious as soon as that character is seen that they were the killer.

Sean Penn's performance is (and I know I will be criticized for this) way over-the-top and I was always conscious that I was watching acting. Tim Robbins' performance is better, but it still is not great.

The film is not bad; it is just completely and utterly forgettable.

One of the most overrated films of the past decade - Clint Eastwood is a master. He is a great actor and he is a great director. However, even the best directors make the occasional mediocre film, and that is my opinion of "Mystic River."

The plot is both overly melodramatic and utterly predictable. I don't want to give too much away, but the film is concerned with the murder of Sean Penn's character's daughter, and it is obvious as soon as that character is seen that they are the killer.

Sean Penn's performance is (and I know I will be criticized for this) way over-the-top and I was always conscious that I was watching acting. Tim Robbins' performance is better, but it still is not great.

The film is not bad; it is just completely and utterly average.

Amazing performance - Everybody in this movie in amazing. They bring their a game. The story is pretty good as well, but it is the acting that really makes this movie a masterpiece.

Dark River - This film opens with three young boys playing hockey in the middle of the street in a Boston working-class neighborhood. One of the boys is abducted and viciously molested. It then shifts to the present day; the three boys are now grown men, approaching middle age.

The great Clint Eastwood directed the film. He had highly talented actors to work with in the roles of the three men: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon. The murder of Penn's daughter is the central mystery of the film. Bacon is the BPD detective who leads the murder investigation. Robbins is the molestation victim who is still very much haunted by this childhood trauma. All three actors immersed themselves in their roles and are brilliant.

The film is about trust and betrayal. It's about self-doubt. It's about how things are not what they seem. It's about how nobody ever forgets anything.

Although this production easily earns five stars, it is overlong. A lot could have been edited out. Ironically, however, despite the slow pace, there should have been more character development of the three men's wives, who play a pivotal role.