MYSTIC RIVER (2003) Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood is a classic film director. His interest is in presenting a story and making the audience follow it in a very simple way. In Mystic River, we know that a crime has happened and we watch as the people close to the tragedy slowly realize it and react to it. As Jimmy Markum leaves church, sensing something has happened to his teenage daughter, we follow him to the crime scene, where a bunch of police officers have been placed to contain Markum's pain, lament and fury. The scene is of a slow and precise crescendo. What it involves is of deep and horrible consequences. And it is all staged as if its done in hindsight, as if the whole tragedy  happened before, working as that haunting question: Where were you when Kennedy got shot?

...But wait, there's another scene of quiet horror that should also be noticed. Celeste Boyle, Markum's best friend's wife talks to him privately and, filled with suspicion and guilt, she tells him with a simple nod that she believes in her heart her husband is the killer. This scene is simple but it determines how all the characters act on beliefs and misconceptions.