Mystic River (2003)

A store owner (Sean Penn) has his daughter disappear and the detective on the case (Kevin Bacon) knows the store owner.  The owner suspects that Dave (Tim Robbins) did something to her and won't admit it. The beauty of MYSTIC RIVER is that this all ties in with an event they all experienced in childhood, which was Dave's abduction by what appears to be two pederasts. The store owner and the detective watched him being taken away when they were youths. Then there is the business of the detective's wife who left him and calls him on the telephone while he works. I won't give it away but they are strange phone calls. Making things even more intense and kewl is the fact that the store owner has two thugs working on the case to try to find the culprit involved in his girl's disappearance. He wants revenge and doesn't care if it messes up the work of the police investigation. There is a stupendous climax which goes all the way back to how they felt about each other when they were boys. A magnificent screenplay as I was shouting at the screen hoping the characters would hear me. [4.7 stars]