MOVIE - CITY BY THE SEA - Review Rating $$$$$ (OUT OF 10)
STARRING - ROBERT DE NIRO, FRANCIS MCDORMAND, JAMES FRANCO,
ELIZA DUSKU, WILLIAM FORSYTHE, GEORGE DZUNDZA & PATTI LuPONE.
Deniro stars as a dedicated police detective, who is faced with the dilemma of arresting his own estranged son, for the murder of his partner. The movie is based on the 1997 Esquire article "Mark of a Murderer" written by Mike McAlary.
City by the Sea is an example of Art poorly imitating real life. One of the real culprits, in the failure to achieve cinematic cohesiveness, is the script. The problem is twofold. First, what initially distinguishes City By The Sea from other tales of family dysfunction, the fact that a cop has to arrest his own son, is its undoing as well. The script is simply unable to do justice, simultaneously, to both the murder investigation (subplot) and the main theme of family reconciliation and personal responsibility. As a result, both of the story lines suffer from poor writing.
The writing is so bad that there are scenes, involving the police department, that not even an actor of DeNiro's talent can save. A prime example, of this, is when DeNiro is called into the Chief's Office to discuss the potential media frenzy surrounding the fact that his son is a potential cop killer. The audience has insufficient historical character development, at this point in the movie, for the ensuing scene to make sense. Even in retrospect, upon being "let-in" more fully on DeNiro's difficult past, the scene is so poorly executed that it cannot be retroactively redeemed.
The second problem with City By The Sea is the quality of the supporting cast. This may actually be an extension of the problem with the script. The actors are clearly limited by the material that they have to work with. That being said, none of them, are able to rise above the situation and give convincing and compelling performances. Road To Perdition, another movie that struggled mightily to juxtapose family values within a violent setting, at least distinguished itself with riveting performances by the supporting cast and dazzling cinematography.
There are two exceptions to the above comments. James Franco does a very good job of portraying a drug addicted loser. The dilapidated remnants of Long Beach, where the story unfolds, are a stark visual representation of the demise of personal responsibility in the world, around us, and the lives of the characters, in particular.
The story of a cop, whose career has been based upon forcing others to accept responsibilities for their actions while he has been shirking his own, has a lot of potential. Sadly, as with so many of the characters it portrays, City By The Sea fails to live up to expectations and achieve its cinematic potential. You would probably be better off seeking out and reading the original Esquire article.
Alternative Reviews:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-city06f.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/mv_reviews/review.asp?mid=2044263
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/CitybytheSea-1115969/
Official Website:
http://citybythesea.warnerbros.com/
MY TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2002 LIST
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2003
David Schwartz.
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