City by the Sea

This is a somewhat run-of-the-mill modern-day crime movie elevated by the presence of actor Robert De Niro. He plays a policeman who is a father to his druggie son, who is accused of murder.

"Vincent LaMarca" (De Niro) is torn between the guilt of being an absentee father to his kid ("Joey," played by James Franco) but still loving him enough to help him and yet still be a good, honest cop.

This is a gritty film, a bid sordid in spots. The locale is a grimy Atlantici City-type on-the- skids town by the ocean. It isn't pretty. As tough as the story can be, it's still interesting and recommended as a decent crime film. Actually, it's much more of a drama than an action-crime film....but I liked it. It's an interesting character study, as well.

Vincent LaMarca's job is to arrest killers, but this job is different. The suspect he is tracking is his own son. As a cop, LaMarca must bring the accused to justice. As a father he must try and help his son. However LaMarca owes his son more than that as he walked out on him and he is also plagued by his own bad memories of his father and how he was executed for murder.

This film starred: Robert De Niro, James Franco & Frances McDormand.

City By The Sea was released in 2002. When I saw the trailers for this film I thought it was going to be really good. With a great actor like De Niro and an up-coming star in James Franco I was really expecting good things from this movie. However, in my opinion this film didn't deliver. It was OK but it bored me some parts and apart from the end scene I wasn't as moved as what I had expected from this film. I don't recommend this film because you will probably be left disappointed.

***/***** Could be worse.

DiNiro defends his abandoned son. Sooner or later, we all have to stand and face the music. This a depiction of their crossroads, of their choices and consequences: really powerful sh1t. Unfortanately, this is another example of how an out of balance film seems sub-standard, but only because everything else coming out of Hollywood has better production. What's out of balance? you might ask. The acting is excellent, maybe perfect, but there is no Kubrick Factor, there is no memorable music, hurried editing. The old deer hunter pair of DiNiro and Dzundza is still good. McDormand is good. But there's no music! What's missing is dramatic pauses and music. Seems rushed. Real shame this movie and the story it portrays. This could have been so much better. Maybe a classic.

Performance 9 Story 7 score 3 cine 6

The rating scale is my own,... But I think I will continue to use it.

Now that I think of it, in modern dramas there are so many current films that lack these two crucial items; Kubrick and Music. It goes without saying that all modern movies need more development, more patience. Then again, I may be biased and setting the bar too high after watching Clockwork, Godfather, Pulp, Blade Runner, Amadeus, Usual, Apocalypse, Shrek2 and Snatch a hundred times. (Combined...I'm not that sick!)I do believe those are those the most powerful and influential fictional movies I've ever seen. (Schindler, Private Ryan, JFK, don't count...they're docudramas) Maybe I need to get out more often. How do I get to Hollywood?

"City by the Sea" is all about De Niro as a New York homicide detective who views the world as black and white and has trouble dealing with the grays of interpersonal relationships. Adrift between a broken home history, an ex-wife, a companion and bed mate (McDormand), and a adult son junkie (Franco), the aging cop protag finds that forging needed reconciliations is more difficult than busting the scumbags on his beat. A solid three star drama, "City by the Sea" is a must see for De Niro fans and a good watch for anyone into gritty dramas. (B+)

Straight-laced detective Vincent LaMarca(a pained and restrained Robert DeNiro) has already lived a disrupted and uneven life of broken relationships and the memory of his dad who was imprisoned and executed for the death(later deemed accidental)of a kid that he had kidnapped). As if that weren't enough to bear,his troubled son Joey(JAmes Franco) has ran away and faces trouble with both the law and the baddies,particularly a vile thug named Spyder(William Forsythe). This is the general construct of director Michael Caton-JOnes' and screenwriter Ken Hixon's film. Set in an unspecified part of New Jersey(though one might infer that it's Atlantic City,given the title),this film is mostly character study,with actors Franco,Eliza Dushku(As Joey's scared girlfriend)and Forsythe making the most of their characters,while DeNiro and Frances McDormand(as DeNiro's patient friend and lover) provide fine,if not exception,performances in this drama. Good for a viewing or two. 8 out of 10