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Robert De Niro is a New York detective on a murder investigation, where the prime suspect turns out to be his estranged son
While actors like Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Harrison Ford have spent the start of the millennium making films that challenge their accepted personas - witness Pacino's satire in S1m0ne and People I Know, and Ford playing stern and nasty in K-19 The Widowmaker and What Lies Beneath - Robert De Niro has been content to rest on his laurels with dross like Showtime and lightweight fare such as Analyze This and Meet the Parents. This role as a New York cop shows he has no intention of breaking his duff run. Vincent LaMarca (De Niro) left his wife (LuPone) and son Joey (Franco) in the city of Long Beach, Long Island, many years ago, settling in anonymous Manhattan and enjoying a somewhat distant relationship with his neighbour Michelle (McDormand). However, his past, including a child-murdering father, comes back to haunt him when all the evidence points to his son being the killer of a drug dealer washed up on the banks of the Hudson. Cue much soul-searching and wringing of hands as father and son attempt to accept responsibility for their own failings. City By The Sea falls down on its predictability and lack of tension. This is the kind of movie where the precinct captain will say "you're off the case!" and when a cop goes into a building without back-up the audience is counting the seconds until he's wormfood. McDormand is wasted as the supposed human side to LaMarca, and the only scene with any impact is a midnight face-off between De Niro and Franco. Verdict The three central actors are let down by the paucity of the material and limp characterisation. It's a crying shame that De Niro's comfortable slide into middle-aged spread seems to be also making him complacent about his roles, leading to indifferent fare like this. |
