Talk:Mystic River (film)/Archive 1

Bad link?
The Oscar profile link just leads to some Oscar page with no mention of the movie. - I tried it twice. &mdash;The preceding unsigned comment was added by 211.225.34.168 (talk • contribs) 21:47, October 21, 2005 (UTC)

Plot synopsis
This summary needs some serious work. It leaves out some very important events like Dave coming home with blood on his shirt and others that make the suspense so great. I plan on working on it soon but if anyone would like to get a jump on it feel free. - Robogymnast 03:10, 29 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I started an overhaul on the plot synposis section, but I've only gotten the opening done so far. I'll work on it more later. Dancemotron 11:06, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Scene missing from the film?
I just rented the Blockbuster DVD of this film, after having seen it at the movies when it first came out. I thought there was a film scene where, Davey, after a post-kidnapping respite, returns to school and schoolmates give him a bad time. In one scene, he's standing at a urinal, next to a much taller boy, who turns and asks Davey, "They made you touch it, didn't they?" or something similar. Davey pushes the kid and a fight ensues, with Davey losing. Was this just in the book or could this have been edited out? It seems the book didn't emphasize the significance in the boys' height difference I think I saw in the film orginially. The screen adaptation was fairly close to the book so I think the part in question was perhaps cut out. I seem to remember the book also covered Brendan's brother part a bit more deeply: Brendan DID make him finally speak; the younger brother saw Katie as competition for Brendan's affections (what with there non-caring mother), with Brendan's elopement plans being the ultimate violation and betrayal; the hockey stick had been placed on the street before hand to make Katie stop her car before the shooting. Thanks, DonL 17:15, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Mystic-River-Poster.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 21:46, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

What kind of accent does Jimmy's wife have?
Boston. They are all supposed to have Boston accents (except possibly Whitey). Some do better at it than others. Softlavender (talk) 10:50, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Doesn't this take place in Chelsea, not Boston?
I don't believe Chelsea is considered a Boston neighborhood. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.162.222.113 (talk) 14:18, 26 February 2007 (UTC).


 * I don't think the exact location is specified in the film. Two Boston neighborhoods (Charlestown and East Boston) border the Mystic River, as do several upstream cities (e.g. Chelsea, Somerville, and Everett) which are also plausible locations. I think the article should not specify the location as Boston unless there is a clear rationale. Of course, the location is clearly within "Greater Boston". 71.232.15.107 (talk) 03:56, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Sean Divine/Kevin Bacon's Wife?
I feel like i understood the whole movie except the part about Sean's Wife, does this play an important role of any kind or just thrown in there? Please explain.

--James of talking about bisexual actors. I guess he is one.- and sometimes the other male actor takes the female part in a relationship like the figures which are visible.On the other hand it's a meta question either. If the shakesperian bgrd is told too. There is most of the time lady macbeth on Sean folio.It's a real spot and eight and half a liter blood in!--Danaide (talk) 13:18, 22 April 2009 (UTC) and in addition to that this so called subplot tells something about a couple, which has no communication anymore getting a baby.It#s a strange little story parallel to the thriller parts and telling about the privat life of the police officer Sean.Obvously his wife has abandoned him and there is no real reason visible. Something strange: she phones him but doesn't speak a word! May be she's questioning his awareness in such a way. Or the wedlock frame has been distroyed anyway!--Danaide (talk) 08:14, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
 * May be this theme is a little hot spot. If you ask so explitily for a real connection to Sean's wife, there is first a tabu

Jimmy's hair
As a lad, he is noticably blond. Now I know children's hair does sometimes darken, but grown-up Jimmy seems much too raven-haired to have ever been blond. --GwydionM 17:10, 31 December 2006 (UTC) little italy neighbourhood. Sean Penn plays a shop keeper with criminal history and his space leads to criminals as well. So the black hair is a sign for these relationships. Inspite of being called an Irish man. Some contradictions are possible and human. It#s not a question of real logic in creating real stories, I guess!--Danaide (talk) 08:20, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
 * To me it's not a question of natural grown up conditions, but a decision for a figure profile. Jimmy's profile relates to

camera work !?
Something what should be and anything what is, differs and is visible by the way. Anybody interested to write about this facts?--Danaide (talk) 08:32, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I miss a catagorie on the page. Something which deals with description of the good camera work or the film aestetic is build upon. Tom Stern has done Thriller frames and enlightening light and shadow relations. So this film is founded in realism.

Nationality / ethnicity
I don't remember anything in the movie specifically saying the kids were Irish. Can anybody back this up?

TheCesspit: Your right, I don't think the Irish-mess is ever explicitly mentioned, but is suggested by names, locations and actions.

The kids are American. Paul Tracy

Sorry, I mean they are Irish-American. TheCesspit
 * It's mentioned in the novel. Nuno Bettencourt

Well, the article is about the movie, not the novel. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.118.108.219 (talk) 06:55, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Sean Penn's character has a cross on his back and in the middle of the cross is a clover. Never spoken bur read between the lines. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.202.8.36 (talk) 13:09, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

pedophile vs hebephile? c'moff it
nobody says hebephile. it's one of those wikipedia-only words. the article should say pedophile, and whatever other articles that person changed should be tracked down and put back to pedophile. 68.174.97.122 (talk) 18:51, 21 July 2013 (UTC)

sean cocking his hand like a gun--as a joke?!?
at pretty much the very end of both the book and the film, sean devine / kevin bacon sees jimmy in the crowd near a parade and makes a gun of his hand, which he 'shoots,' and they share a smile.

i am not even halfway through the book yet, but i checked to see if this part was in it b/c it's a part in the film which i did not understand. perhaps as i continue reading the book, i will somehow be clued in as to the meaning, since there is of course much more detail and background info provided in the book than in the film.

in case that doesn't happen or in case the meaning of this gesture (the lightheartedness of which seems to me rather inappropriate in light of sean knowing that jimmy unjustly murdered dave) is obvious in the film to viewers other than me, i wanted to ask, what's going on there?! &mdash;The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.42.135.71 (talk • contribs) 14:36, September 26, 2005 (UTC)
 * Well, yes, I wondered about that, but Kevin was not smiling when he makes the gesture. I think it relates to the Dave's widow desparately calling to her son on the float and his deadened mien.  (If the law doesn't get Jimmy,) the Greek cycle of violence will continue with the boy carrying on the "tradition."  (Of course, this interp begs the question of how the cop - as opposed to the narrator/camera - would know this. &mdash;The preceding unsigned comment was added by 211.225.34.168 (talk &bull; contribs) 21:45, October 21, 2005  (UTC)


 * Sean knows that Jimmy killed Dave because Jimmy tells him the morning after, »why haven't you been quicker?« This is a confession between old friends but not to the police. -- mms 07:32, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

I literally just finished wataching the movie, Kevin Bacon's character does NOT smile before or after the gun-cocking motion so I've removed that bit from the summary. By saying that he smiles it implies that he was okay with Jimmy shooting Dave. --JohnDoyle 22:58, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps someone can help me. I watched the movie and was interested to find out why the old man that abducts Davy seems to show off a ring as he turns around in the seat. I'm not sure, but the marking on the ring seems similar to the tattoo on Jimmy's back in the last few scenes. And, can anyone explain the why Jimmy's wife makes her speech in that same scene? 199.126.32.53 18:41, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
 * She made that speech to convince Jimmy not to destroy himself with guilt. Pendragon39 02:10, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Considering her next line was ″we'll rule this town″ and ″we're not weak″ I'm pretty sure she thought it was justified regardless. I wish it had been telegraphed a little more clearly that Jimmy and his wife were perfectly okay with a brutal, unjustified murder of an innocent. Hell, Jimmy even found out that the story about saving a kid from a child molester was true, and he basically... just shrugs it off. After all of his massive, overweening guilt about not being the kid in the car, it comes out of the blue. As for Sean's (Bacon) reaction, I get the feeling he's fully intending to do something about it, but... it's hard to tell. 68.5.169.216 (talk) 07:35, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

enormous plot hole not mentioned by article? did sean know? why no action?
It seems to me there is an enormous plot inconsistency, because Sean knows that Jimmy killed Dave, yet does nothing about it except to cock his hand at Jimmy during the parade. First, it seems that Sean does know, from their conversation, and from the hand cocking gesture. Second, it seems Sean is portrayed as an honest cop, so I would think he would pursue any lead, even if it implicated a friend. It was flat out murder. Dave was killed in cold blood by Jimmy, and for no good reason. Dave said he didn't kill Jimmy's daughter. Jimmy said he would let Dave live if he confessed, so Dave had no choice. This (to me) huge inconsistency has been referred to before on the talk page. But no mention in the article. Seems (to me) like a huge omission. AAABBB222 (talk) 18:53, 24 April 2018 (UTC)
 * This is your interpretation of the plot, which is irrelevant. How is this helpful to improving the article? --- The Old Jacobite The '45 00:03, 16 May 2018 (UTC)
 * I never proposed to edit the article with anything other than information from a reliable source, so your reply is basically a straw man argument. My post is relevant because it points out that the article does not mention an obvious plot hole. To repeat, Sean knows Jimmy killed Dave, which was flat out murder. Yet Sean apparently does nothing, despite being portrayed as an honest cop. If there is no reliable source that mentions this obvious inconsistency, then my post can be ignored. However, my guess is there is a reliable source, which someone else more familiar with where to look might be able to find. So I am encouraging someone to find the information (if it exists), thus improving the article. Or what about the book? Does Sean do nothing to bring Jimmy to justice in the book? Again, I am in no position to tell, but someone else might readily answer the question, thus improving the article. AAABBB222 (talk) 19:26, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

enormous plot hole not mentioned by article - why did "silent ray" kill katie?
The article fails to address what seems to me an enormous plot hole, totally separate from the other plot hole I mentioned. Why did "silent ray" and his friend kill Katie? It seems implied that "silent ray" was jealous for his brother's affection. Were they stalking her? Did they ambush her? It also seems implied that it was just a coincidence. If just a coincidence, it seems the most unlikely coincidence ever. And it seems not consistent with the previous story line that "silent ray" would commit such an extremely violent and random crime. Is there some source that mentions this obvious plot problem? AAABBB222 (talk) 19:31, 22 May 2018 (UTC)