City by the Sea

"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+)

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?

A young junky kills a drug dealer when the dealer attacks him with a knife. The junky's father is a cop who wants to bring him in before the dealer's friend and boss kills the junky. Very mediocre and forgettable. Nothing that is really worth seeing. Acting is decent, although the only memorable person is William Forsythe. If you are a hardcore De Niro fan go ahead and see it. If not, there are far better crime flicks out there ** out of ****

"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

This is a very good movie. I do not understand why so many of the comments here are negative. The plot is great with no holes. The characters are well developed and the acting is top notch. Maybe the lack of computer animation or computer generated special effects or car chases or machine guns blazing away turned some of you off. If you like dramas that are heavy on acting and character development, you will like this movie. The filming locations are very fascinating too. I am not sure where the boardwalk scenes are filmed (Asbury NJ or Yonkers NY) but it looks just like a formerly popular beach front local, that is now a ghost town. Very underrated by the IMDb voters.