O Último Suspeito

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.

Drug addict Joey LaMarca (James Franco) defends himself and kills dealer Picasso. He is injured and goes home to his skeptical mother (Patti LuPone). His estranged father NYPD homicide detective Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro) and his partner Reg Duffy (George Dzundza) are given the case of the dead drug dealer. Spyder (William Forsythe) is also after his associate's killer. Michelle (Frances McDormand) is Vincent's girlfriend. Gina (Eliza Dushku) is Joey's girlfriend and baby mama. Fellow addict Snake rats out Joey.

There are good actors doing solid work. This material could be given a more grim style. This represents a slow slide in the quality of director Michael Caton-Jones. This should be a more intense thriller and a more heart-breaking tragedy. I keep thinking that this movie should be better. The biographical nature does muddy the story. There is an overall lack of intensity.

I'm really not a fan of cop/crime dramas.

I watched this on a recommendation without any clue about its content, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it.

De Niro is Vincent laMarca, a detective of many years on the force. His wife is estranged and he hasn't seen his son Joey in 15 years but finds himself pursuing the boy when Joey is wanted in connection with the murder of a drug dealer. Joey is in a bad way, being a drug addict himself and father of a son he can't support, so perenially finds himself in conflict with his mother who reluctantly tolerates his junkie nature and internally with himself.

Frances McDormand plays Michelle, Vincent's current relationship, though the depth of the relationship seems rather superficial given the 2 live in the same apartment block but seperate appartments. She wants to know more about Vincent when she decides she doesn't know him at all, but his past is murky with a complex and dark family history.

Add to this, his son, Joey's own son with Gina who essentially loses faith in both Joey and her own ability to be a mother, and you have a rather subtle and dark drama with a lot of complexities.

It is worth noting that all the performances are as excellent as you would expect, particularly the breath-taking de Niro, in one of his best roles for years. This is the type of character he was born to play and he's so convincing as Vincent.

As a crime story and cop drama it's one for fans especially, but if you know good cinema you will appreciate it too.

"City by the Sea" starring Robert DeNiro and Frances McDormand (Fargo & Almost Famous) is an exciting and heartfelt melodrama. Director Michael Caton-Jones proves himself with one of his greatest efforts to date, bouncing back from his previous disappointing and misdirected film "The Jackal." Caton-Jones displays a style all his own with stunning atmospheric poignancy. The city by the sea, to which the film refers to is Long Island, N.Y., a wonderfully lonely and dilapidated city to where junkie Jimmy Nova, (DeNiro's son) calls home.

DeNiro plays a well-respected cop with a terribly troubled past that seems to constantly haunt him. His ex-wife, played by Patti Lupone, struggles to get over the violence of their past relationship while his son, played by James Franco, is headed down the same path as DeNiro's father once was, that of an (alleged?) murderer. Jimmy Nova, as he's known around town mixes with the wrong crowd, as do most junkies, and one night finds himself struggling for his life, and before he knows it, stabbing and killing a high profile drug dealer. This relatively small act of self-defense cascades a sequence of irreversible events, which never seem to let up until the end. DeNiro, of course, is assigned to the case and unknowingly hunts down his own son who he hasn't seen or heard from in several years. Both father and son have moved on with their lives since their seperation, but still harbor intense emotional feelings for each other that seem to slowly emerge further and further into the film. To top it all off the two men are involved in complex relationships of their own which naturally complicates things further.

DeNiro's relationship with Frances McDormand seems quite convenient at times, but nonetheless shows the tenderness and compassion of both characters, while Franco's relationship feels more like a fling with multiple strings attached. In the end, both DeNiro and his son must face the issues that have plagued them for three generations and make one of the hardest decisions of their life.

Similar topics and themes in "City by the Sea", were explored in "Road to Perdition", however it is the way that they are explored that keeps the film feeling fresh and unique. Similar themes explored are the father-son relationship, the destructive path of violence and crime, and most importantly the will and courage to fight for a second chance at life. I was particularly impressed with the atmospheric mood of New York that Caton-Jones set from the beginning, reminiscent of Scorcese's "Taxi Driver", thus giving the film the reality that many recent Hollywood films tend to lack. The acting in this film is of the highest quality and will not be overlooked, contending with so

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