City by the Sea Starring Robert De Niro, James Franco Directed by Michael Caton-Jones Rated R for language, drug use, and some violence **3/4 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: B-

Theatrical Release: September 6, 2002

Running time: 108 minutes

by Kevin Lang

"City by the Sea" attempted to dig beneath the surface of a father-son relationship to tell a story whose conflict arose as the characters battled internal fears within themselves, as opposed to being pitted more so against each other. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this story of a wrongfully accused son was that its characters weren't perfect. They all had flaws that seemed to connect them through a common thread of imperfection.

Detective Vincent La Marca had been divorced years earlier and had estranged himself from his only son, Joey (James Franco). His own father had been executed when he was only a boy, and Vincent had spent much of his life trying to escape this dark shadow that followed him in the whispers of others.

His son Joey was now a drug-addict living in an abandoned casino, trying to support his habit in any way that he could, even if it meant selling his guitar. He had a recently cleaned up girlfriend who supported their infant son by working at a fast food joint. And like his father had done, he was planning to leave the both of them for Florida, although he did promise to send for them. Thus, the film offered a mix of flawed characters whose scarred lives starkly resembled the imperfect settings in the movie, settings such as the decrepit, run down Long Beach (it's actually somewhat nicer in reality) where Joey hid out. These settings helped to reflect the damage and desperation in the lives of the characters in the movie.

"City by the Sea" did not offer as strong an overall story as it had the potential for early on. It was the type of movie that kept your attention, but didn't quite leave you feeling satisfied enough at the end. Like its characters, the story's resolution was imperfect as well. Not that I wanted an "everything works out in the end" conclusion, but I had been anticipating something slightly more fulfilling. Despite good overall performances, especially by Frances McDormand who played Vincent's girlfriend Michelle, my advice would be to wait for the rental.