Mystic River

Complex drama is right up the controlled Eastwood's directorial alley (it's his 24th film)--especially with his three leads giving their all. Jimmy (Penn), Dave (Robbins), and Sean (Bacon) have grown up together in a working-class Irish neighborhood in Boston. As a child, Dave was kidnapped as his buddies looked on helplessly and he's never completely recovered from his ordeal. Decades later, Sean is now a homicide detective; Dave, a subdued loser; and Jimmy, an ex-con who manages a local market. Tragedy brings the guys back in close contact when Jimmy's beloved 19-year-old daughter Katie (Rossum) is murdered and he wants to get the killer before the cops do. There are some strange circumstances surrounding Katie's death and suspicion soon falls on Dave, leading to a climax filled with irony, regret, loss, and the perils of vigilante justice. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane.