Mystic River: a survivor’s tragedy

Mystic River is one of the greatest mystery movies I have watched, with an exciting yet emotional story woven around three childhood friends who have become estranged over years until a tragedy brings them together again. As any other good thriller movie, it is full of suspense and mystery and gives you a feeling of holding your breath with a pounding heart throughout the two hours and at the end you definitely don’t regret it. But what makes this movie even more special is the strong emotional element behind the entire plot. That’s what I’d like to discuss in this post.

      One aspect of the situation is the grieving father who has lost his 19 year old daughter, who had been shot and beaten by an unknown person. I felt his anguish and grief right along the story, his struggle to take control over the situation and his rage was quite understandable, given his circumstances as an ex-convict. On the other hand, there is the detective who has been called to solve the homicide case of his childhood friend’s daughter. Being at a higher social position than his two childhood friends, although unwilling at first he tries to put an effort to renew his friendship while feeling protective towards them as his colleague calls it a liability.

  But the strongest impact is made by the third friend who is the victim and survivor of a childhood sexual abuse incident, Dave. Apart from the mystery, for me the whole film was about the plight of the victims of childhood abuse. At the very outset we see his terrified sad eyes looking at his friends while he is being abducted by the assailants. Then we see him as an adult who is struggling with his traumatic memories while keeping up with his beloved son and wife. I strongly felt that undeniable prejudice against people with a traumatic past and how unfair and unreasonable it could become and how much agony and suffering those people go through. The movie also speaks about the lives of their spouses; the loving and supportive wife is gradually losing her faith and driving towards desperation.

If you have not watched the movie yet, that would be unfair to reveal more about the plot because it will break the suspense. But as the final note I would like to comment about the unforgettable scene of the concrete slab on which the three boys have written their names, with only D and A with the rest missing, written for DAVE while the names of his two friends are complete. It resembles the sad truth about those unfortunate victims and their innocent lives, that there will be some part of their lives missing always.