CITY BY THE SEA (2003) Since movie studios apparently think audiences are unable to digest a complex domestic drama about working-class Americans sans gunfights, De Niro's latest intimate family story…
Video Review

CITY BY THE SEA (2003)

MPAA Rating: R
Reviewed by Joshua Rich | Feb 21, 2003
EW's GRADE
C+

Details Release Date: Feb 18, 2003; Movie Rated: R; Genres: Drama, Mystery and Thriller; With: Robert De Niro and James Franco; Distributor: Warner Bros.

Since movie studios apparently think audiences are unable to digest a complex domestic drama about working-class Americans sans gunfights, De Niro's latest intimate family story comes packaged as De Niro's latest clumsy crime yarn. In telling the true tale of cop Vincent LaMarca -- haunted by his criminal father while on the trail of his criminal son (Franco) -- director Michael Caton-Jones loads up on rote police procedurals and pseudo-metaphorical shots of crumbled buildings. All the while, a smart movie is buried beneath the debris.

Originally posted Feb 21, 2003 Published in issue #696-697 Feb 21, 2003 Order article reprints