"Clint Eastwood's film, scrupulously faithful to the letter and sprit of Dennis Lehane's novel, has the gritty efficiency of superior crime fiction and the somber weight of tragedy. Set in working-class Irish Catholic Boston, this film revisits the themes of violence, honor and guilt that have haunted many of Mr. Eastwood's movies; it is among the most humane of his films, but also the most rigorously pessimistic…. The performances are first rate. Marcia Gay Harden, as Dave's wife, Celeste, and Laura Linney, as her cousin Annabeth, who is married to Jimmy, expand the film's emotional compass, allowing us to see how grief ripples through families and communities. Mr. Penn's volcanic, furiously disciplined performance is surely one of the best pieces of screen acting you'll see this year; it may even be one of the finest ever."—NYTimes