Mystic River MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -3

From the banks of Bostons Mystic River comes a suspense drama first told in Dennis Lehanes best-selling novel. Three childhood friends Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) and Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) drifted away from each other after Dave was abducted and molested as a child. Dave escaped, but this tragic event greatly affected the boys and impacted how each of them grew up. The three are reunited after 25 years when Jimmys 19-year-old daughter, Katie (Emmy Rossum), is violently killed. Jimmy is consumed with revenge. Sean is a homicide investigator assigned to the case. And Dave, who comes home to his wife with blood on his clothes the night of the murder, becomes a suspect. With a prestigious cast, award-winning director/producer Clint Eastwood and a riveting plot, Mystic River will be a probable favorite in theaters.

The theme of child molestation is disturbing, but it is an unfortunate reality that many children secretly live with today. The time spent on this issue is relatively brief, but there is one momentary scene where a boy has his face in a mans lap while sitting in a car. The film suggests that crimes and sins have their consequences. The teenage girls murder is not shown, but her body is shown beaten and bloody at the crime scene and at the morgue. Religion in this film is respected as an institution, but not as a lifestyle. Jimmy is proud to participate in his daughters first communion, but his daily activities and vocabulary do not honor God. Most of the films adult characters drink hard liquor to escape stress and emotional pain. Preview must give Mystic River a negative rating for these reasons and for prolific use of profanity and pervasive violence.

Editor's Note: Sean Penn won a 2004 Golden Globe,"Best Actor in aDrama," for his work inMystic River.

Preview Reviewer: Brian Hughes
Distributor: Warner Brothers