City by the Sea on DVD
Long Beach , the city by the sea, was once a
beautiful place. Now its about as run down as South Central L.A. and
equally friendly.
Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro) used to live and work there. Now
hes back in the city with a new love and a new life. Hes not
pleased about his past, but hes doing his best to leave it behind.
His son, Joey, however, is not as lucky. His life has been hell
ever since Vincent walked out so many years ago, and now hes a lowlife
drug doer (and sometimes dealer).
When a deal goes horribly wrong, Joey accidentally kills a man
known as Picasso. When the cops find the body, Vincent is assigned to the case.
And when the trail leads to the son he left oh-so-long-ago, he has to choose
between his job and his second chance at family.
The movie itself is not overly compelling. But this is a film
about characters, and the performances that drive them. Aside from one of De
Niros best performances in recent years, the supporting cast of Frances
McDormand, James Franco, Eliza Dushku and William Forsythe is equally superb.
Franco is an even bigger surprise considering his less-than-spectacular job in
Spider-Man.
Even at 108 minutes, City by the Sea seems to drag on for a very
long time. Fortunately, youre having an involving enough time watching
the characters that you want to find out what happens, even if it takes all
day.
Its not the best movie ever made, but its good enough
to watch at least once. If youre one of those people who are willing to
sit through mediocre movies in order to see some great acting, there probably
arent a lot of better choices out there.
The movie wasnt exactly box office gold, so its no
surprise that Warner has provided a very moderate DVD. The picture, presented
in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen (or a separate full screen version, dammit) is
pretty good. Its a tad soft, but there is no dust or grain present.
Were not sure why, but the softness actually worked well for the film,
giving it a more authentic feel, like we were actually living in the run-down,
dirty city by the sea.
The audio is pretty standard. The 5.1 Dolby Digital is used
effectively, but there is almost no surround use at all. But again, this movie
is about characters, so you really only need the front channels to sufficiently
enjoy the film. The left and right front speakers have some good pans, and the
sound effects are realistic. For a front-restricted track, this is about as
good as you could ask for.
Extras include an audio commentary by director Michael
Caton-Jones, and Six Words About Filmmaking with Michael
Caton-Jones, which isnt as short as it sounds. The director tells
us the six most important words to remember when making a movie, but it could
have been quite a bit more informative. Still, its an interesting feature
that we havent seen before.
City by the Sea, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
108 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand, James Franco, Eliza Dushku,
William Forsythe
Produced by Brad Grey, Elie Samaha, Michael Caton-Jones, Matthew Baer
Screenplay by Ken Hixon, Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
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