I've just re-watched Clint Eastwood's Mystic River for about the hundredth time, and it only keeps getting better. The performances given by Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon are heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
Don't even get me started on the display of family dynamics: the blinded, dedicated wife vs. the shaken, "disloyal" one. The question of the cost of family, the ties the bind, and the choices that we make. Do you stay with your loved ones even though they committed wrongs, or do you follow the external world's moral codes and betray the people who need you the most?
Annabeth Markum: Celeste called looking for you. She was worried something might happen. She told me about Dave. Told me what she told you. What kind of wife says those things about her husband? And why'd she run to you?
Jimmy Markum: Why didn't you call?
Annabeth Markum: Because it's like I told the girls. Their daddy's a king. And a king knows what to do and *does* it. Even when it's hard. And their daddy will do whatever he has to for those he loves. And that's all that matters. Because everyone is weak, Jimmy. Everyone but us. We will never be weak. And you, you could rule this town.
Here is just an example of the finest blend of acting and direction that I have ever seen. I will challenge anyone to show me something more evocative and compelling.
-E
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