*** Official MYSTIC RIVER Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Ernest Rister]

"Two questions;

People have asserted that Celeste didn't know Jimmy would kill Dave, but went to him instead of the police as that was the culture. What precisely was Celeste supposed to be accomplishing by going to Jimmy? Was she just trying to settle Jimmy's mind?"

a) She's related to Jimmy's family, she knows Jimmy has had numerous legal issues -- she goes to these family members for protection and also as a confession. She thinks Dave murdered their daughter. Now imagine your own family. Imagine that you had every reason to believe someone close to you murdered a child of a close relative. If you have severed your loyalty to that person who is close to you ("I think I've left Dave forever"), you would run to your family for help, and because you need their help, you would tell them everything you know to have them on your side ("Do you think Dave murdered my Katie?" "Yes"). She has to get that monkey off her back, she needs help, she runs to her family, and she confesses her sins. That scene has nothing to do with Jimmy, it is all about Celeste, and her confession. Imagine the horror -- your husband has killed the child of a close relative -- how would you hold up under that pressure? Celeste makes a tragic mistake.

"I got that Annabeth was aware of what Jimmy was going to do with Dave when Celeste called looking for him"

I don't think Annabeth knew what had happened to Dave until AFTER the events of that night.

"Was it also clear that Celeste's remarks made Annabeth aware that Dave was innocent?"

What remarks are these? To my knowledge, Annabeth and Celeste never speak to each other after Dave's murder.

"Did the Celeste/Annabeth convo contain the info Sean provided Jimmy later [the kids did it, looking for Dave in connection with the body of the molester]?"

What convo are you talking about? I'm at a loss here.

 

[John_Lee]

I don't think Annabeth knew what had happened to Dave until AFTER the events of that night. . .

What remarks are these? To my knowledge, Annabeth and Celeste never speak to each other after Dave's murder. . .

What convo are you talking about? I'm at a loss here.

I thought, and I may be wrong, but prior to Annabeth launching into her 'whatever you do to protect your family' speech she said that Celeste had called her 'last night' looking for Dave. The tone of the conversation was that Annabeth knew where Jimmy and Dave were and what Jimmy was doing, but didn't tell Celeste. What wasn't clear is if she also knew from Celeste that Dave was innocent.

 

[SPIKER_01]

The problem I have with this movie is the reason for the boys to kill Katie. It's just way to much of a coincidence for it to be a random attack, given Ray and Jimmy's background. As soon as Ray's gun came into play, you knew it had to be one of Ray's sons, and my money was on the younger one, who would have felt that the older brother was abandoning him to leave with Katie, (her being beaten with the hockey stick symbolizing his rage). That's the only motive that would actually make sense. That, along with all the other script blunders mentioned in a lot of the posts here make a really great movie, into just a great movie. JMHO

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I've not seen this since it was released in theaters, I think. I don't recall much about it. Maybe I should revisit it.