In the film Mystic River, Celeste experiences a fall from fortune. After Dave comes home
covered in blood she makes a choice to protect him. Although he claims his
victim was a mugger, his actions begin to reveal a different side of him- the
broken side that was never dealt with; whatever happened to him during the
kidnapping still haunts him as an adult. As she observes this behavior, she
wonders if he could actually be Katie’s killer. To further convince her of his guilt, he can't keep his mugging story straight. Her paranoia terrifies her and
eats away at her loyalty forcing her into a panic. Because she chooses to
protect Dave instead of encourage him to turn himself in, she ultimately causes
his death. In a moment of weakness, she admits her suspicion to Jimmy,
subliminally sending her life sprawling out of control. This is the point of no
return for Mystic River. If she
decided to do one thing differently and take another course of action, her
husband might have lived. Her statement makes him an obvious suspect. The
“single story” of his tragedy as a child The unknown answer to her worries
would have set Dave free. Guilt plays an important role in the movie for this
reason. The underlying nature of guilt is her Iago who convinces her Davedemona killed Katie. By keeping his secret, Celeste not only fell from fortune but caused her whole family to suffer.
Celeste had only good intentions for telling Jimmy her suspicions of her husband. Just like Dave had only good intentions for killing the pedophile. And like Jimmy had only good intentions for murdering who he thought was his daughter's killers. This is a typical Greek tragedy filled with misconceptions that lead to the deaths of multiple innocent lives.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good synopsis of Celeste and very truthful. Although Celeste thought she was stuck in a difficult situation, in reality it never had to be hard - she just "let" it be. Celeste's power to set the complexion of the movie's plot straight by making Dave absolve his sin and confess was understated, but that could have been the difference between the sad ending which happened and a less painful one. I like how you used allegorical parallelism to Othello with the comparison of guilt to Iago and Davedemona as a clever pun for Desdemona! Haha :)
ReplyDeleteAlso Jimmy had good intentions of avenging his daughter. The death of child symbolized a non-fulfillment of a full life which was a big deal in Greek tragedies. Therefore, it could not go unnoticed and someone to had to play the role. Jimmy had good intentions but just like the other characters, it resulted in an innocent death.
ReplyDeleteAlso Jimmy had good intentions of avenging his daughter. The death of child symbolized a non-fulfillment of a full life which was a big deal in Greek tragedies. Therefore, it could not go unnoticed and someone to had to play the role. Jimmy had good intentions but just like the other characters, it resulted in an innocent death.
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