SOMETIMES it's not possible to let sleeping dogs lie. They simply wake of their own accord.

In Mystic River, a fragmentary thriller adapted from Dennis Lehane's novel, three men bound by a traumatic past are thrown together when fate once again deals them a losing hand.

As children, Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle and Sean Devine were often to be found playing street hockey with an orange ball and makeshift goal.

Their lives were inextricably bound, until one day, a man claiming to be a policeman took Dave away in his car.

The boy eventually escaped from his captors, having been repeatedly raped and abused for four horrifying days.

Many years later, the three men have drifted apart, but they are reunited in another time of trauma when Sean (Kevin Bacon) is asked to investigate the death of a teenager (Emmy Rossum), whose father happens to be Jimmy (Sean Penn).

As Jimmy wrestles with his grief and rage, the evidence begins to point to Dave (Tim Robbins) as a prime suspect for the murder.

Mystic River is an incredibly powerful tale of shattered innocence and a father's hunger for justice at any costs.

Brian Helgeland's screenplay remains faithful to Lehane's source novel, opening with the shocking events of Dave's kidnapping.

Clint Eastwood directs with his customary cool detachment, allowing the suspense to build in the conversations between the characters.

Rating: 7/10