While the script is a bit rough and the look of the film is not polished, the movie has an effectively gritty, realistic feel to it." Robert Roten, LARAMIE MOVIE SCOPE

Insight

"De Niro has been showing us great stuff for 30 years now, but in this movie he shows us something new.." Mick LaSalle SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

There's no doubting the pulling power actor Robert De Niro has at the box office. The veteran actor who's profilic movie career commenced with acclaimed director Brian De Palma's [Dressed To Kill] 1969 film "The Wedding Party" has distinguished himself to such an extent in the film industry that he is now recognized as one of the all time greats. Some might argue that, but De Niro's record speaks for itself. Winner of Oscars for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for his roles in "Raging Bull" and "The Godfather II", De Niro has been nominated on another four occassions in the Academy Awards after appearing in "Taxi Driver", "The Deer Hunter", "Awakening" and in what was one of my favourite De Niro films, the Martin Scorseces [Gangs of New York] remake of "Cape Fear" [1992]. And, there's no doubting DeNiro is a man for all occassions. Take his recent forays into the genre of comedy films like "Meet The Parents", Analize This" and the hilarious sequal "Analize That". But, De Niro's talents have not been confined to appearing in front of the camera. Most would not know that De Niro has his own production company. He is fiercely proud of its achievements. Tribeca Productions [launched in 1988] is based in the Tribeca Film Centre in New York producing first film and then branching out into televison productions in 1992. The Film Centre is an impressive site. The eight story, state of the art centre houses, office space, a banquet hall and restaurant and a full range of service facilities for industry professionals including a screening room. A point of interest for film buffs is that the Tribeca film "A Bronx Tale" launched De Niro's directing career.
"City By The Sea", De niro's latest role takes us into uncharted waters. This is a vastly different role to those many have come to expect from him. Det Vince LaMarca is a private person, shielding himself from his past. His divorce has left him wary of becoming too involved with the opposite sex prefering an upstairs downstairs relationship with Michelle [Academy Award winner Frances McDormand], he doesn't socialize with workmates and he has kept the secret of his past well hidden. That may be a problem for many cinema fans who, in many cases have grown used to big 'emotional' roles from De Niro. He is a little on the podgy side as the highly distinguished New York Detective Vince LaMarca, obviously having beefed himself up for the role. For some, the storyline of, son with killer father, enters police force, marries, gets divorced, buries himself in his job and now, years later, faces the task of arresting his son for the murder of a drug dealer as, well a little far fetched. But hey, this 'is' after all only fiction. There isn't a rule that says everything has to be plausible. "City By The Sea" is not a film that demands a lot from the viewer, in fact it's better to just "go with the flow" on this one, that way your sure to get a whole lot more out of it. It's not De Niro's biggest film, nor is it his greatest film, but it's put together in such a way that in the end it is an entertaining watch.
Franchise Pictures presents "City By The Sea" starring Robert De Niro [Fifteen Minutes, The Score], Frances Dormand [Fargo, Almost Famous], James Franco [Spider-Man] as Joey LaMarca and is directed by Michael Caton-Jones [The Jackal, Memphis Belle and Rob Roy]. The Story

"Like a book you can't put down, this is one of the rare movies that simply keeps getting better and better." Bruce Newman SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Det Vince LaMarca [Robert De Niro] has buried himself in his work. He's built himself a distinguished career. But Vince is a man with a past, a past that he has been hiding from all these years. That past is about to come back to haunt him. When the body of a murdered drug dealer is found washed up in Brooklyn everything points to a routine investigation, until the prime suspect turns out to be Vinces son Joey. Now Vince will be forced to face his greatest fear, returning to Long Beach, Long Island, the place he had fled some fourteen years ago after a messy divorce. The case will bring Vince back to earth with a thud as the media have a field day with the story. But is it an open and shut case. Is Joey a killer. Vince must grapple with feelings and forces that are threatening to tear his career apart. Is he a cop first or is it time he gave his son back the father he lost. Det Vince LaMarca will discover much about himself and his estranged son while working on this case. The Verdict "Another intriguing role for De Niro. "City By The Sea" is a quietly powerful and emotionally driven film. James Franco's role as the drug addicted Joey is disturbing and yet touches the heart. If "City By The Sea" has a flaw it is this, for some it may appear a little too ordinary, too down to earth in many ways. The end result though is "City By The Sea" is a pretty good film with a pretty good cast. De Niro fans will love it. Needless to say, I did." What The Critics Say

"For the first time in years, De Niro digs deep emotionally, perhaps because he's been stirred by the powerful work of his co-stars." Chuck Wilson LA WEEKLY "It's a testament to De Niro and director Michael Caton-Jones that by movie's end, we accept the characters and the film, flaws and all." Luke Y Thompson, DALLAS OBSERVER "A markedly inactive film, City is conversational bordering on confessional." Steve Schneider ORLANDO WEEKLY "A thoughtful, provocative, insistently humanizing film." Susan Stark DETROIT NEWS "An exceptionally acted, quietly affecting cop drama." Michael Rechtshaffen HOLLYWOOD REPORTER While the script is a bit rough and the look of the film is not polished, the movie has an effectively gritty, realistic feel to it." Robert Roten, LARAMIE MOVIE SCOPE "De Niro has been showing us great stuff for 30 years now, but in this movie he shows us something new.." Mick LaSalle SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE "City by the Sea is a good film that yearns to be a great one." Mike McGranaghan AISLE SEAT "Fiction or non-fiction, all of the performances are top-notch." David Levine FILMCRITIC.COM

The Cast & Crew

Robert De Niro Frances McDormand James Franco Eliza Dushku William Forsythe George Dzundza Patti LuPone Anson Mount John Doman Brian Tarantina Drena De Niro Michael P Moran Nestor Serrano Matthew Cowles Linda Emond Cyrus Farmer Jay Boryea Leo Burmester Gregg Edelman Jason Winther

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Det Vince La Marca Michelle Joseph 'Joey' Nova Gina Spyuder Reg Duffy Maggie Dave Simon Captain Henderson Snake Vanessa Hansen Herb Rossi Arnie Margery Carl Picasso Lieutenant Katt APC Johnson Jason

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones Screenplay by Ken Hixon Original Music by John Murphy Cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub Film Editing by Jim Clark Casting by Amanda Mackey Johnson & Cathy Sandrich Art Direction by Darrell K Keister & Patricia Woodbridge Production Design by Jane Musky Set Decoration by Lynn Tonnessen Costume Design by Richard Owings Run Time 108 minutes Rated MA 15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2003 - Seabreeze Prod Inc - All Rights Reserved Copyright©2003 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved