Movie Review: City By The Sea

New York City homicide detective Vincent LaMarca has a distinguished career marred by his father’s execution for the 1950s kidnapping of a child. When LaMarca is confronted with a murder case and discovers his son is a suspect, he grapples with abiding by the law and his feelings for his drug addicted son.

This is a De Niro film I hadn’t seen as yet and rented it. This is a good film, mostly due to the fine acting of De Niro, McDormand, and Franco. While the story was interesting, the film was good but could have been better due to a weaker screenplay. A deeper look into LaMarca and what drives him would have made a better film. The actors give fine performances but its not enough to elevate this film. This is good rental if you are a De Niro fan.

2002. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Starring Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, Patti LuPone, and John Doman.

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