City by the Sea (Widescreen Edition)
by Michael Caton-Jones
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eliza Dushku, Frances McDormand, James Franco, Robert De Niro, William ForsytheDirector: Michael Caton-Jones
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Andrew Stevens
Producer: Brad Grey
Producer: Dan Klores
Producer: Don Carmody
Producer: Elie Samaha
Writer: Ken Hixon
Writer: Mike McAlary
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 108 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of City by the Sea (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Very good true story ruined by a forced ending
Summary: 3 Stars
City by the Sea tells the true story of three generations of the LaMarca men. It is a story about fathers and sons and the devastating effects the sins of the fathers have on their sons. Vincent LaMarca (Robert DeNiro) is a homicide detective who has had to live down the reputation of his father all his life. When Vincent was a young boy his father, in a desperate attempt for money, kidnapped a baby from a wealthy family hoping to collect a hefty ransom. Before he could be paid off the baby suffocated to death and he was branded a baby killer and given the electric chair. When Vincent had a son of his own he couldn't handle it and walked out on him leaving him to be raised by his mother. Now Joey (James Franco) who is a junkie, has grown up and is wanted for murder. During a drug buy a dealer came at Joey with a knife and in a questionable act of self defense he stabbed the dealer to death. The police begin an investigation which Vincent heads up and as more and more evidence comes in Vincent realizes that the suspect description matches that of his own son. De Niro does a great job of showing the sadness and guilt eating away at Vincent as he begins the task of bringing Joey in and hearing more and more damning testimony about his own son. Franco does a fine job of showing how desperate and hopeless Joey is. For all of his tough bravado he is really just a scared little boy who has nothing but resentment towards his father. The film works good as we watch both men deal with their angst and head off towards their fates alone but towards the end when the two are finally brought face to face the film stops being good and becomes predictable and fake. The two men are crying and apologizing,calling each other son and dad. It doesn't work with what came before it and it feels like too much of an attempt at a happy ending. It really detracts from the film which up until that point was a gritty true story that was very well acted. Now it just plays as predictable and full of the usual cop movie cliches. The supporting cast has a few good performances which include Eliza Dushku as Joey's girlfriend and the mother of their child together, William Forsythe as a scary thug who is after Joey since one of his dealers was the man that Joey killed. Frances McDormand deserves special mention since she takes the most cliched character out of all of them and makes her a strong woman rather than a victim. She plays a woman in Vince's building who is seeing him despite not knowing anything about him. She doesn't know about his father or the fact that he is a father himself. In the film's funniest scene Vincent saddles her with all this information at dinner and to cap it all off he tells her that his son is wanted for murder. The next time she sees Vincent she is going to his apartment to end things when Vincent opens the door and he is holding his grandson. McDormand and De Niro are the best things going for this film. Unlike the ending their acting is strong and doesn't feel forced.
Summary of City by the Sea (Widescreen Edition)
Drama. When a respected New York homicide detective (Robert De Niro) discovers the prime suspect in a murder case is his estranged son (James Franco), he is forced to return home to the decaying boardwalks of Long Beach, Long Island to confront the darkness of his past. During the course of the investigation, he realizes that his failures as a father - and his unresolved anguish about the painful estrangement - have deeply influenced his son's life, and he must put his own life on the line in order to do right by both his family and his profession.A welcome throwback to the cop dramas of the '70s, City by the Sea is an average film improved by its cast. Robert De Niro stars as veteran New Jersey detective Vincent LaMarca, lamenting the once glorious Asbury Park boardwalk, now dilapidated from the decay of changing times. A good cop but a regrettable father, LaMarca must confront past mistakes and repressed memories when his estranged son (James Franco) becomes the prime suspect in the killing of LaMarca's partner (George Dzundza). There's a nagging inevitability to Ken Hixon's otherwise intelligent screenplay, but De Niro and Frances McDormand--as LaMarca's compassionate neighbor and part-time girlfriend--turn this simmering drama into something deeper than it is. McDormand's role would be thin without the depth and humanity she brings to it, and both De Niro and Franco mine gold from their troubling father-son legacy. Based on a true story, City by the Sea has that kernel of authenticity that good actors thrive on. --Jeff Shannon
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