City by the Sea (2002)

As Good As It Gets

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

City by the Sea is a very mediocre movie with a poorly developed storyline, albeit a terrific cast that deserved better. One issue I certainly did not have with this movie was the cast, Robert De Niro hits it out of the park, really understanding the problems and frustration of this character, it is one of his most vulnerable performances, James Franco also shines in his scenes as a down on his luck young adult, as does Frances McDornand in her limited screen time. The film was too afraid to do anything, that was its main problem, it never took the story in an interesting direction, it's given a lot of good material but does nothing with it, it's going through the motions from start to finish, the crew did not try hard enough to make this exceptional. The best scenes are the ones De Niro and Franco share together, they're emotional and very believable as a father and son. Sadly, their parts together are limited to only two, I felt like I could have given it a much higher rating if they were together more, it's when their acting was the most raw, as well as that, it's when the story really goes somewhere, instead of simply lingering back and forth. The script is awful, the terrific performances make it watchable, but at the end of the day, that is not enough, and I could not possibly recommend City by the Sea to anyone, a movie that is given so much, and does nothing with it. A cop is forced to confront his past when his son is revealed to be the chief suspect of a murder case. Best Performance: Robert De Niro

This is a great movie! The story is intelligent and effective, offering us two main characters with visible trajectories, masterfully portrayed by DeNiro and Franco. The supporting cast was relevant and also flawlessly played. The casting really is wicked good; there is chemistry bubbling away during every scene. The production design and cinematography are top notch. The modern ruins of the seaside town, a disturbing and forgotten wasteland, perfectly underscores the story's themes of lost innocence and abandoned hope. This movie ultimately makes a brave and romantic statement about second chances and the colossal struggle to love again in spite of the (often) painful consequences.

It is strange how a method actor like de Niro relies on conveying such an introvert sense of undoing. Not at his best here, even though at the end he delivers a terrific lesson in rhythm with his speed-up, pant-in-check monologue. I liked the fact that this monologue is sculpted so, given the sense of alarm it had to take into consideration - and I mean it in terms of direction - but it comes too late for any defining purposes. DeNiro is good, yet something lacks, he fails to give a full characterization, contrasted with McDormant who achieves it excellently. The story feels anachronistic and the soundtrack absurd. But one make actually - unexpectedly - like James Franco's Osborne - yeah, from his "Spiderman" character - grin that flashes menacingly at some point.

There are a whole lot of movies with action scenes, violence, screaming, etc. This film shows real people, with real emotions, in extreme situations. The plot puts regular folks into situations that could happen to anyone, and could be misunderstood by everyone with potentially fatal results. Luckily, that doesn't happen here.The acting is so natural that it looks like anyone could act like this - but it takes a master (DeNiro, Franco, McDormand) to act like that. Their performances are like a good hifi speaker - "flat" in the sense that nothing is exaggerated.What a welcome change for American films. The only unfortunate result is that this type of film doesn't get Oscar nominations - it should.