Locked up, raped, abandoned, escaped... but did not really escape. The movie Mystic River follows the three characters of Jimmy, Dave and Sean. A life lost, a life ended, a life still unfound. This movie isn’t shaped as a right triangle nor an equilateral triangle, but as an isosceles triangle where the tragic lives of Jimmy and Sean can not compare to the tragic life of Dave nor add up to it. In accordance by Greek literature, no man shall avoid great hardship and suffering, and it all began from the very beginning of Mystic River. Dave’s skeletons, or so to say werewolves, follow him up through to the the next generation where he still finds himself in the place where he lost the ability to properly feel alive, whilst another young being, Katie -in the proceeding generation-has her life unjustly ended. The catastrophe’s to follow are not seemingly unjustified, the past continued to spill over until there was nothing more to spill. Dave’s memories, and Jimmy’s old habits with the Savage brother’s, as well as Sean’s inability to see the bad in anyone, catch up in the final lap. With all these flaws there must be one hamartia which is bestowed upon the character who possessed the most prominent hubris which was Jimmy. Jimmy’s character was the tragic hero. Jimmy was reduced to the point of catharsis after his daughter died and promised to avenge her, this is the point where it can be known that he is the movies “hero.” A hero oftentimes takes it upon himself to right the wrongs that were done, because to let someone else do so would be weak. Jimmy gets to a point in the movie where he doesn’t trust any one else to catch Katie’s killer and with his set commitment he commits the biggest “wrong” which in his case was assumption. He assumes that if a wife says her husband is a killer than her husband is a killer, he assumes that a boy who was once traumatized will turn demented with age, and he assumes that by killing Katie’s alleged killer he is doing what is right and just for his daughter and defending his own pride. Though, how wrong was Dave to assume that a lie would set him free, as lying to himself all those years still hadn’t set him free up to date. And how wrong was Sean to assume that being the mediator, allowing Jimmy to run wild and letting Dave be an open suspect to many dangerous men, not even being aware that people suspected him, was fair-minded. The “wrong” that was befallen upon the entire movie was the never ending assumptions, causing a tragic line- not a wheel.
After Katie's death, an unremitting cycle of assumptions fuels the conflicts within the movie. First, Dave's erratic behavior leads Celeste to believe Dave murdered Katie. Then, Celeste's confession convices Jimmy that Dave killed his beloved Katie. Similar to what you said, Jimmy takes on the role of a hero by taking matters into his own hands and avenging his daughter's death. Perhaps, if Celeste never confessed to Jimmy, Dave would still be alive.
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