Customer Reviews

City by the Sea (Full-Screen Edition)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For me, City By The Sea (based on actual events) is the story of three generations of LaMarca men. In spite of his father (who desperately kidnapped a baby that accidentally died and was "given the chair"), New York City homicide detective Vincent LaMarca (Robert DeNiro) has had a long, successful career. The stakes are highest in his latest case: trying to protect his estranged and only son Joey (James Franco) who, on a high, killed a dope dealer in Long Beach (the "City by the Sea") and possibly a cop, Vincent's partner Reg (George Dzundza). Frances McDormand plays Vincent's girlfriend who he keeps at arms length. Her apartment is just below his, yet she knows nothing of his personal history. Vincent can't seem to escape his past, the bad name set by his father, yet he wants to finally do right by his own son as well as his girlfriend and himself.

Some will say this film is slow. I say, not all movies are fast-paced and action-packed. City By The Sea is full of emotional turmoil and an all-star, award-winning cast. DeNiro's role is a bit calmer that his usual, but it's still a DeNiro performance with some emotionally heart-wrenching dialogue, especially with his son. James Franco, who received a best actor award for TNT's James Dean, has whatever it is that makes the audience unable to look away. His character Joey isn't a bad kid. He's just honestly trying to get himself out of the messed up life he's made for himself. Franco has that James Dean intensity on screen, most definitely. Frances McDormand's role is pretty subtle, but she makes it as real as possible. William Forsythe, who I usually see as one of the "good guys" (cop, FBI), plays Spyder, boss to the dope dealer that Joey killed. Keep your eyes open for a pretty news reporter named Vanessa. She may not look familiar, but she's DeNiro's daughter, Drena. - B+

"City by the Sea" begins as a typical cop drama - Vincent DeMarca (Robert DeNiro) is a good solid New Jersey cop with a history. His father was executed as a "baby-killer", and now Vincent's own son Joey (James Franco), whom he abandoned as a young boy, is a strung out junkie suspected of killing DeMarca's partner. The scenes are predictably dingy and muted, with Frances McDormand popping out of her apartment now and then as DeMarca's girlfriend. The first part of this movie honestly felt like the pilot for a new television drama - with calculated character introductions and back story. But then something marvelous happens: the quality of the acting kicks in to elevate the film beyond its script. James Franco is astonishingly convincing as a junkie who both loves and despises his father, and DeNiro fools us into believing he's just an ordinary guy until the moment when all the layers are stripped off. Frances McDormand does a competent job with what she is given (not much) while adding a needed texture to DeMarca's life.

This film is probably the quietest cop drama I've ever seen because it's not about crimes one can be arrested for. It probes the fragile relationship between fathers and sons, and the obligations each needs to face. The film never picks up the slow paces it sets up in the beginning, so those hoping for the high action of traditional cop dramas will be disappointed. Make no mistake: this is a three-star movie raised to four stars by the performances of DeNiro and Franco. Still, the pivotal scene is a powerful one.

If you want action, blood, gore, thrills, and cheap tricks; stay away from this one. This takes you back to the way a movie was told without all the hoopla. You find yourself getting involved and relating to the characters. Is it so bad to see emotional conflict, intense situations, reality, and still have a happy ending? This is a unique story of a family torn apart and eventually brought back together after many years. It takes place in the down and hardened east coast 'cities by the sea'. The emotions seem heartfelt and there is plenty of action. I thought the performances were all exceptional. In fact everything about this movie is quite exceptional, so why it didn't get better reviews or doesn't linger on the mind longer is sort of a mystery then.

In this gritty New York drama, De Niro and Franco add two first rate performances to their already impressive cinematic repertoires. De Niro is a Vincent, aworld-weary cop, divorced and haunted on a two generational front: his father was executed for the murder of a kidnapped child, his son is a junkie on the streets struggling to survive. Franco plays De Niro's tortured son, wandering through the burnt out former Long Beach boardwalk area looking for his next hit and dreaming about escaping to Key West to find a better existence. The basic plot revolves around the self-defense killing of a drug dealer which leads to the shooting of an investigating police officer, but the real drama lies in the unresolved pathos sensed between father and son. De Niro is fantastically unable to express his disappointment verbally, yet emotes openly with his eyes and body language. Franco, reminiscient of 50s icon James Dean, should win an Oscar for his totally believable portrayal of a son that feels he has lost his father's love and can do nothing positive in his life until he gains the recoginition he deserves as a son.
Look for Patty LaPone (Evita) as the mother who simultaneously rips De Niro apart while wanting so desperately to believe her son when he tells her he wants to get clean.
Powerful, memorable performances all around. Recommended highly.

City by the Sea brings to the screen the story of a police officer who finds himself stuck between a rock and hard place as he has to arrest his own son.
It is a movie about human relations, hope and second chances, but most importantly about trust, inner strength, courage, sacrifice, and how love can overcome and prevail even in the most difficult of situations.
Robert De Niro, James Franco and the rest of the cast have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are exceptional to say the least. All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)!
The setting, the plot, the dialogues, and the music are all wonderful!
In conclusion, City by the Sea is a movie guaranteed to provide an evening's entertainment; it is one of those films that gets you and keeps you thinking long after it's over.

De Niro is a great actor. No one questions that, but lately people have been criticizing him for the roles he chooses to take, with his presence being the only saving grace in some of those films (Showtime for example). Fortunately this movie does not require De Niro to make it stand although his presence in it definitely makes it that much better.

The story is an excellent one that reminds us all of the importance of family in the development of a child. De Niro is a dead-beat dad whose refuge from his failures is in his job as a policeman. His son, possibly as a result of his lack of a role model in life turns out to be a junkie who feeds his habit by any possible means.

One night while buying some drugs, the situation becomes ugly and he murders the drug-dealer unintentionally. From there things go downhill (as if things weren't already bad). He is wanted by the supplier of his supplier and by the Police (including his father) for the murder of the drug-dealer. To add to the already messed up situation, his girlfriend is almost penniless and has to look after his son while he finds a way to clean himself up. In addition to all that, Deniro's already inimical relationship with his ex-wife becomes even more strained when he has to face her to talk to her about their son.

This is realistic drama and it deals with the choices that we all make in life and the responsibilities we have to face up to, some of the speeches in the film really drive this point home. -

Deniro : I remember the day you were born
Son: I remember the day you left
(When Deniro tries to convince son to hand himself over)

An earlier reviewer mentioned the realism in this movie and I would have to agree, Deniro is a versatile actor, and he is convincing in this role (you completely forget he was the Don once) the supporting cast is brilliant and make this film entertaining.

I would highly recommend this film, a good message and a great movie.

This is a movie with a good handle on reality-- warts and all. It focusses on imperfect characters who feel completely real-- incuding DeNiro, whose acting, bad haircut, extra weight, and "average joe" clothing all successfully overcome our preconceived notion of DeNiro as a top-of-his-game mafiosa.
Instead, we see DeNiro, but AS THIS CHARACTER: a warts-and-all cop & bad father, looking for a second chance.

Also, DeNiro's star power doesn't overshadow this movie's second plotline, about a junkie (DeNiro's son), also looking for a second chance....and some kind of family life.

Likewise, the physical setting and peripheral relationships all have a REAL feel. Viewers will come away with the feeling that this is the seamy, redeemable side of real life.. a place you wouldn't want to live, but a state you can recover from.

*spoilers ahead. Stop reading now, if you hate spoilers.*
We get a happy ending, but not a Hollywood unbelievable ending. Some of the relationships STAY fractured, and other elements of the resolution also have that real, imperfect, but therefore acceptably non-saccharine happy ending.

This is a pretty good movie that has a different plot then what I've seen in the past! Robert Deniro stars as a policeman, whose son is a suspect for a murder. His son's girlfriend(Eliza Dushku, who does a fine job at it) comes by to see his dad and drop of the baby, then she takes off, I guess she didn't want to see her boyfriend again!! Anyways, it's a great movie and it sure was interesting how he(Deniro) would solve it!! Great performances, I like the ocean shots and it's a great movie, watch it!!

This adaptation of a true story should appeal to fans of cop movies, especially NYC area residents and movie goers who appreciate well directed stories with excellent performances by good actors. Robert DeNiro is superb as Vincent LaMarca, a veteran cop whose estranged son Joey Nova (well played by James Franco) is accused of the murder of a local drug dealer and then of DeNiro's partner (George Dzundza who reprises his Law and Order persona) during an arrest attempt. Patty Lupone adds energy in her brief appearance as DeNiro's embittered former wife and Frances McDormand makes the most of her part as the downstairs girlfriend who gets involved in the unfolding drama and gradually learns of DeNiro's past, including the fact that his father had been executed for murder when he was still a boy.

This is not just about Vince Lamarca saving his son from a police force bent on vengenance for a fellow officer's death, but rather an examination of how a father and son attempt to understand and overcome their estrangement and the many wrong turns in their lives that have led to the present situation. The movie has only brief scenes of violence, a moderate amount of action, and is primarily a story of the deterioration in the life of Joey from a high school football hero to a drug addict set against the skillfully illustrated counterpoint of the deterioration of the boardwalk in the town of Long Beach where the family lived and most of the movie occurs.

In addition to the uniformly good performances by the cast,there were several other elements that made me decide to rate the movie as high as a four. First, the direction and editing were also first rate; the story was told in an absorbing manner and the complexities of the characters and their interrelationships as the situation unfolded were developed in a manner that kept your attention. Second, the fact that the story is true is what makes it riveting and separates it from the traditional cop movie or TV series. Third, the violence is only used as necessary to tell the story, not for shock value or sensationalism. And last and very important, despite the depressing nature of the story, the ending leaves you with some hope for the repair of broken relationships and shattered lives (especially for the next generation), rather than being either a nihilistic conclusion or a contrived feel goodism ending such as ofter occur in this movie genre.

For potential viewers expecting an adrenaline-induced action-packed cop caper, please look elsewhere.

CITY BY THE SEA is about fathers and sons. It's about guilt, frustration, abandonment, estrangement. Yet despite the bleak tone established by this movie--along with a lethargic pace--the bond between father and son perseveres.

Robert De Niro is almost one-dimensional throughout most of his role as veteran Manhattan Police Detective Vincent LaMarca. Vince stays on a fairly even keel, even though the audience knows he's suppressing a ton of emotional baggage and guilt. When at last his troubled son is on the verge of being taken out by a very motivated police force, Vince lets everything spill out: his guilt, his remorse, his pain--his love. It was marvelous acting, chilling to the bone. And extremely effective.

James Franco and George Dzundza headline a wonderful supporting cast. Unfortunately, Frances McDormand's character added nothing to the story, other than a sense of frustration when she exhibits less than stellar loyalty to Vince upon learning about all of his troubles. CITY BY THE SEA is highly recommended for all fathers and sons who have had to mend some fences over the course of their relationships. You will be affected--guaranteed.
--D. Mikels