WHAT IS IT ABOUT:
Robert De Niro stars as Vincent Lamarca, a tough cop whose investigation into a recent murder brings him to the door of his drug addict son.
WAS IT ANY GOOD:
As a De Niro fan, I have to say that this is an oddly poignant movie from the king of acting. At first glance ... Read review
A welcome throwback to the cop dramas of the 1970s,City by the Seais an average film ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A welcome throwback to the cop dramas of the 1970s,City by the Seais an average film ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A welcome throwback to the cop dramas of the 1970s,City by the Seais an average film ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 6 to 11 days...
A welcome throwback to the cop dramas of the 1970s,City by the Seais an average film ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Double Academy Award winner Robert De Niro stars as dedicated Manhattan homicide detective ... more
Vincent LaMarca in this gripping, suspense-filled thriller, inspired by true events.Estranged from his wife and son Joey (James Franco - Spiderman), Vincent live...
A welcome throwback to the cop dramas of the 1970s,City by the Seais an average film ... more
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 DeNiro and Frances McDormand--as LaMarca's compassionate neighbour 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 Seahas that kernel of authenticity on which good actors thrive. --Jeff Shannon
Postage & Packaging:£2.69 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Drama - Director: Kevin Smith - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, George Carlin, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Biggs, Matt Damon
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
WHAT IS IT ABOUT:
Robert De Niro stars as Vincent Lamarca, a tough cop whose investigation into a recent murder brings him to the door of his drug addict son.
WAS IT ANY GOOD:
As a De Niro fan, I have to say that this is an oddly poignant movie from the king of acting. At first glance it has all the appearance of a low budget, throw away film that has nothing going for it except the big man's name, but it's actually ... ...its success is the father son relationship between De Niro and James Franco; I don't know if the two knew each other before the movie, but I was amazed at the authenticity of the relationship between the two. Not only is it realistic, it raises some great questions about where your loyalty lies, and the nature vs nurture debate.
Frances McDormand has a small but important part to play, and isn't she just a cracker? Fargo and Burn ... more
WHAT IS IT ABOUT: Robert De Niro stars as Vincent Lamarca, a tough cop whose investigation into a recent murder brings him to the door of his drug addict son.
WAS IT ANY GOOD: As a De Niro fan, I have to say that this is an oddly poignant movie from the king of acting. At first glance it has all the appearance of a low budget, throw away film that has nothing going for it except the big man's name, but it's actually pretty good.
At the heart of its success is the father son relationship between De Niro and James Franco; I don't know if the two knew each other before the movie, but I was amazed at the authenticity of the relationship between the two. Not only is it realistic, it raises some great questions about where your loyalty lies, and the nature vs nurture debate.
Frances McDormand has a small but important part to play, and isn't she just a cracker? Fargo and Burn After Reading are two much better showcases of her talent.
The plot can be criticised for being a little basic and predictable, but it is within those constraints that the relationships really shine. I for one found it interesting to see De Niro in a role that isn't like anything he's done before.
Having just looked on IMDB's review of this film, it says De Niro personally had Franco cast for the role of his son, so there's a partil answer as to why the relationship worked so well - because the god of acting chose it!
At 108 minutes, it never dulls you, and there are a couple of unique and surprising moments in there too.
IF YOU LIKED IT: 'Everybody's Fine' (coming this year) is another De Niro film that sees him take the role of a parent: I haven't seen it but I am excited about it already!
IN CONCLUSION: A basic plot is lifted with an authentic relationship between the leads.
Vincent has had a long and distinguished career in the police force but he is still suffering from the pain of the break-up with his wife and son, Joey. When Joey becomes involved in a murder charge then Vincent's own failings as a father cause a major crisis in his life - not least as a result of his own father being executed for murder when he was a boy...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
14/07/2003
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
D 022082
Barcode
7321900220828
Screenwriter
Ken Hixon
Composer
John Murphy
Featured
Andrew Stevens
Executive Producer
Andrew Stevens, Elie Samaha, Brad Grey, Don Carmody, Roger Paradiso, Dan Klores
Audio Commentary - Ken Hixon - Writer, Interview - 1. Mark of a Murderer: Six Words About Filmmaking with Michael Caton-Jones, Interactive Menus, Scene Access
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...[De Niro] gives one of his gentlest, most quietly affecting performances....CITY BY THE SEA has combustible moments that wake you right up..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.125-6, 13/09/2002)
"...Franco's performance is solid..." (Movieline, p.38-9, 01/09/2002)
"...It is loaded with rich, dark themes..." (New York Times, p.E12, 06/09/2002)
"...Franco brings a tortured grace to his performance..." (Sight and Sound, p.37-8, 01/01/2003)
"...The old Method master hasn't lost his touch....DeNiro's final speech brings back the great-actor tingles..." (Total Film, p.101, 01/12/2002)
"...[De Niro is] raw and compelling....McDormand has a salt-of-the-earth quality that lends itself nicely to this role..." (USA Today, p.14D, 06/09/2002)
"...[Dushku and Lupone] each effectively pulls out the stops when the moment calls for it..." (Variety, p.25-31, 02/09/2002)
DVD Description
In CITY BY THE SEA, Robert De Niro plays Vincent, a New York City cop who is investigating a murder that leads him back to the place where he grew up--Long Beach. A born loner who is pained by his past but never shows it, Vincent rarely opens up to his partner (George Dzunda) or his girlfriend (Frances McDormand). However, when his son Joey (James Franco) is named as the murder suspect, he is challenged to confront his duties as a father and a cop. A constant dialogue between the good times and the bad, the past and the present, and the choices made along the way gives CITY BY THE SEA an emotional, contemplative edge. In its opening scene, a colorful vintage photograph of the happily crowded seaside at Long Beach in the 1970s fades into the cold gray dilapidated locale of the early 21st Century. Joey has similarly faded from a cheerful young boy to a broken junkie loitering on the boardwalk and living in an abandoned merry-go-round. And while Vincent maintains a contented balance between work and his noncommitted romance, it is clear that he feels his best days have passed. The violence and neglect that permeates life on Long Beach is the evil from which Vincent must now save his son, a gesture which breathes new life and new hope into the family he nearly deserted.
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