The film opens with the three main characters as kids playing hockey in the street when a mysterious car pulls up and asks them to get in. The men were posing as cops. One of them gets in and is sexual assaulted, but nothing is shown, and then he escapes. This sets his character up for the rest of the movie when the three of them are drawn back together when the daughter of one of them is killed. The movie is then one thrill ride as one of the friends is a cop and tries to figure out who killed her. The other ends up becoming suspicious about the other friend. The story is widened when other characters are revealed and are thought to have something to do with her death, including her boyfriend.
What makes this movie fabulous to watch are the performances by the great cast. Sean Penn does the best as he plays Jimmy Markum, the father of the girl killed, who has a criminal past and suspects his past enemies as people who may have killed her. He delivers a powerhouse and frightening performance that won him Best Actor at the Golden Globes and Oscar's. Tim Robbins won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes and Oscar's as Dave Boyle, an emotionally traumatized man that was sexual abused as a child and because of that he becomes a suspect as something he did the same night that girl was killed is revealed. Kevin Bacon is the third friend as he plays Sean Devine, the detective trying to find the killer. He also gives us one of his best performances as he is caught in the middle and by the end is the man who truly figures out who killed the girl. The rest of the cast is capped off by Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linny, and Marcia Gay Harden as she also delivers an Oscar nominated performance.
The acting is the best aspect of this film, but the second is Clint Eastwood as he directed this masterpiece. He gives us another dark, chilling, yet exciting movie that will leave you thinking once it is over. Along with directing, he also scored the film and it too is great as it is used perfectly, especially during the climax, and builds the suspense throughout the film. This is a perfectly scored film. It is also wonderfully written, based on a novel as well, with the perfect pacing, dialogue, and scenes that build and come together by the suspenseful ending and everything is explained. The editing is not too shabby either, particularly during the climax as we have several things going on at once.
By the end of this great movie not only are the characters traumatized by what has happened, but we might as well be too. This is one of those movie that leaves us in almost a state of peril by the way it all unfolds. Now, I know that sounds like a bad thing, but really we are still thinking, why did that happen? Why didn't he just tell him this? Or show him that? That is what makes this movie so great, besides the acting, it is a haunting story that is hard to watch at times, but we can't stop watching! Plus the ending is left open a little for us think what will happen to one of the main characters, and I love those type of endings. This a wonderful film that is perfectly acted, directed, written, and scored. It would have won Best Picture had it not been for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King being released the same year.
4/4 Stars
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