“Mystic River” is a truly touching experience. It’s a movie that explores the social awkwardness surrounding death and how that can lead to suspicions and misery. Clint Eastwood (“Gran Torino”, “Unforgiven”) is in the director’s chair and he knows this isn’t a script that requires him and thus doesn’t act in it, which is a smart move.

In “Mystic River”, Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn “Gangster Squad”), Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins “The Shawshank Redemption”, “War of the Worlds”) and Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon “Tremors”, “Footloose”) were just kids when one of them was abducted and sexually abused for four days. They have since drifted apart. When one of them has their daughter murdered, they find themselves together again.

All three are terrific and all have given very different performances for very different characters. Sean Penn is clearly the hardened one and he conveys that brilliantly without ever seeming corny. I like how Tim Robbins plays his character as a little fragile but again, it isn’t overdone. Kevin Bacon is arguably my favourite as he plays the one who grew up somewhat normal, I guess. The uncomfortable silences between the characters are fantastic and while that’s normally a bad thing in movies, this time there is a point to it. Eli Wallach, who worked with Clint Eastwood in “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly”, appears so keep your eye out.

“Mystic River” sounds like it could just be silly and soppy but instead, it is moving. Eastwood may well be remembered for shooting up everybody without any fuss in “Dirty Harry” but his more recent pictures look at death in a more consequential manner. There are movies that claim to be showing the real world but very often the people don’t same real. “Mystic River” gets it spot on from the first frame. This is a movie I’ll have to make sure I see again.