City by the Sea (2002)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Michael Caton-Jones

Writers (WGA):

Mike McAlary (article)
Ken Hixon (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

When you're searching for a killer... the last suspect you want to see is your son.

Plot:

Vincent Lamarca, whose father was executed for a 1950s kidnapping of a child, grew up to become a police officer, only to see his own son become a murderer.

Plot Keywords:

Beach | New York | New York City | Grandson | Police

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Vincent LaMarca
Frances McDormand	...	Michelle
James Franco	...	Joey
Eliza Dushku	...	Gina
William Forsythe	...	Spyder
Patti LuPone	...	Maggie (as Patti Lupone)
Anson Mount	...	Dave Simon
John Doman	...	Henderson
Brian Tarantina	...	Snake
Drena De Niro	...	Vanessa Hansen
Michael P. Moran	...	Herb
Nestor Serrano	...	Rossi
Matthew Cowles	...	Arnie
Linda Emond	...	Margery
Cyrus Farmer	...	Carl

Also Known As:

Mark of a Murderer (USA) (working title)
The Suspect (Philippines: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug use and some violence.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #38840) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/12 (original rating) | Singapore:M18 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Spain:13 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (2003) | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Franchise Pictures

Trivia:

Robert De Niro personally had James Franco cast, after viewing his performance in James Dean (2001) (TV).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Spider kicks in the bathroom door at the diner, the cameraman is reflected in the bathroom mirror.

Quotes:

Medical Examiner: Give me a break, I had to jerk off twice this morning just to get my heart started!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Bullet From A Gun

not too bad...

"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