CITY BY THE SEA (2002)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
(Originally reviewed in 2003)
Robert De Niro playing yet another New York City cop? Can we say "15 Minutes"? Well, let's not get too hasty. "City By the Sea" is an exceptional thriller giving us the De Niro that I kind of missed in the last few years. You know, the dramatic De Niro - the angry, ebullient De Niro playing the kind of existential antihero we had thought disappeared from cinema.
Set in Long Beach and Manhattan, De Niro is Vincent LaMarca, a rugged homicide cop who goes to work at the crack of dawn, watches TV, visits his girlfriend, Michelle (Frances McDormand) who lives downstairs from his apartment, and not much else. His partner, Reg (George Dzundza) is a family man yet Vince is not comfortable with visiting Reg's family - "Too much love," the man says. His reasoning is understandable - Vincent walked out on his family many years earlier. His estranged son, Joey (James Franco), who drives a blue Chevy Nova, is a junkie living on the boardwalk of Long Beach, sometimes residing in an abandoned casino building. One night, while drugged out on crank, he kills a neighborhood drug dealer. Now Joey is wanted by the police, and guess who has to lead that investigation. Vincent's own past has come back to haunt him, including dealing with an understandably bitchy ex-wife (Patti LuPone) and Joey's ex-girlfriend (Eliza Dushku), who has a kid. There is also the drug dealer's big boss (William Forsythe), who is about as vicious and snarly as one can expect in a movie of this type.
Okay, so we have heard all this before. The difference is that "City By the Sea" is based on true events, emanating from a 1997 Esquire article by Michael McAlary. Truths aside, the movie works because the characters are believable and three-dimensional. Rather than subjecting to overdone car chases and endless shootouts, director Michael Caton-Jones ("This Boy's Life") keeps the pace lively and the character studies sturdy. This movie is not about action but about words. It is about people who are affected by the downward spirals in their lives, and about families broken apart by unforeseen tragedies.
De Niro is as good as he can be as Vincent LaMarca, showcasing the character's strengths and flaws. He abandoned his child and he may abandon his grandchild. Will he be a father again to his son or just another cop? "I am a cop and a father," says Vincent to Joey. This is a standout sequence in itself, again focusing more on their relationship than the actual plot. And what of Vincent's relationship to Michelle (Frances McDormand)? Vincent has kept her in the dark about his family, including his father who was electrocuted for murdering babies. Can Michelle handle his family history and his inability to hang on to whatever family he may have left?
"City By the Sea" is often sensational entertainment, briskly directed and acted. The ending suffers a bit from either straining too hard to be emotional or not enough. I also could have learned more about William Forsythe's expendable character - he is nothing more than a meanie with a shotgun. On the plus side, De Niro and James Franco rise above the melodrama and provide the poignancy that might otherwise be lacking. A fine film, unjustly ignored by audiences.
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