If you think the mob is "cool", see this movie and you'll get your head straight (like I did). Mystic River is a movie that could have gone over the top, but stops just short. I can't think of how to describe this without spoilers, so here goes...
Kevin Bacon opens a window to the film's meaning when he wonders allowed whether all three of the leads had gotten kidnapped as children and their lives ever since have just been an elaborate dream. When one friend gets in the car, all three get in, since they are all affected.
The film gives us no closure and we are left with a completely ambiguous situation. Everybody looks happy though we know it can't last for any of them. Dave's wife looks on in horror as she has lost everything, including her friends.
Mystic River (2003)
