- Date: September 6, 2002
- Type: Movie
City by the Sea is a 2002 film starring Robert De Niro, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, Frances McDormand and William Forsythe. It deals with the family problems of a wayward youth and is set against a man trying to break free of his past. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. It is based on the story of Vincent LaMarca. Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro) is a veteran street cop and the son of an executed killer. While his father did not intend to kill the child he kidnapped, the son reaps the reputation anyway and decides to be so good that he is beyond reproach. Meanwhile, his own son Joey LaMarca (James Franco), a drug user with fading memories of athletic high school glory, gets wrapped up in a drug-related killing and, with no other choice, asks his estranged father for help. Joey suddenly comes to the attention of Vincent's current girlfriend Michelle (Frances McDormand), who asks Vincent why he is not going to help his son. Vincent has tried so hard to distance himself from his past that he cannot accept any intrusion into his contentment. Then Joey's girlfriend Gina (Eliza Dushku), who struggles to stay sober for her and Joey's infant son Angelo, comes into Vincent's life, asking him to save Joey. She later escapes, leaving the child with Vincent. Joey gets deeper into trouble when the local drug enforcer Spyder (William Forsythe) kills Vincent's cop partner Reg (George Dzundza) who was helping Vincent clear Joey's name, and the murder is pinned on Joey. In the end, Vincent sets aside his self-imposed isolation and helps save his son.