"We bury our sins, we wash them clean."
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden
Mystic River — Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Is that my daughter in there? Is that my daughter in there?!
Context
Jimmy arrives at the crime scene in the park and tries to fight through the police officers to see the body.
Meaning
A raw, visceral expression of grief that pierces the police cordon. It establishes the unbearable pain that drives the rest of the film's violence.
We bury our sins here, Dave. We wash them clean.
Context
Spoken by Jimmy to Dave right before he kills him by the banks of the Mystic River.
Meaning
Jimmy's justification for murder. He believes the river (and his own moral code) allows him to erase his crimes, highlighting his delusion and lack of true remorse.
Sometimes I think all three of us got in that car. And all of this is just a dream, and we're actually just eleven years old waiting for us to wake up.
Context
Sean speaking to Jimmy towards the end of the film, reflecting on how their lives were defined by that one day.
Meaning
Acknowledges that the trauma of the abduction destroyed all three lives, not just Dave's. They are all stuck in that moment in the past.
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