On Location with Mystic River

I love movies. Therefore, I'll use this blog to share with you things I know, like and have experienced with film. One of my hobbies is to go looking for filming locations. I have often done this with my brother and parents and even went on movie location dates with my wife before we were married. I can't describe the feeling I get when I find a movie location. Many people I tell this to don't understand. I've actually had people say to me "Get a Life." Well, it's a hobby and I consider that a nice part of my life. Here I will discuss some of my favorites and even try to post some pictures. I will confess that I often find these locations from good books on the subject such as The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. On occasion, however, I will find one on my own; and that is the best feeling. Either way, I love finding a location where a film was shot. I bring my portable DVD player, pop in the film and watch it while I am there at the site. It really is cool.

What makes a location intriguing? Hard to explain but there is usually something on the screen that makes it interesting; something that you'd like to see in person. My first location entry will explain what I mean.

Clint Eastwood's Mystic River opens on a gray day on a Boston street. Three kids are playing street hockey. One shoots the ball and it falls down a sewer. Afterwards the kids write their names in some wet cement right above the sewer. It's that sewer that makes the location interesting. It's part of the action and it is different from any sewer I've seen in New York. Does it exist in real life or was it built for the movie? That's what I want to find out and see. I realize the wet cement that dried later in the film was a prop, but would it still be there? Often film companies will leave their work behind, did they this time? I had to find out.

A newer version of The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations came out a few years ago with the locations for Mystic River. They actually had the street name for that block. When I had the chance to go to Boston with my wife and at the time one year old daugther, I decided I was going to find it. I actually left my hotel late at night to find it. I did, and it was a great feeling; but it was too dark to appreciate. I went back the next day with my wife and daughter and saw it. While this was a great find, I was a little disappointed that the sewer was not there; it indeed was created for the movie. Needless to say, the cement with the writing was not there as well. As I walked up and down the block, however, I noticed that there was a sewer a few feet up that looked identical to the one in the movie; it just wasn't in the same spot. Maybe the filmmakers moved it. I know it was in a different spot because I had my DVD player with me and could locate exactly where the action was.

Mind you, this process can be somewhat painstaking as you go back and forth between the DVD and real life. It's pretty cool to see what's the same and what's changed. It also can be a somewhat melancholy experience as you see that certain buildings or landmarks are no longer around. This location, I have to say, was very satisfying.

If you are interested in finding this location, It is located in East Boston on Condor Street. I don't have any other address, but your GPS can get you there.