City by the Sea

City by the Sea (2002)

Genres - Mystery, Drama, Crime  |   Sub-Genres - Family Drama, Police Drama  |   Release Date - Sep 6, 2002 (USA)  |   Run Time - 109 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

A man struggling to come to terms with the sins of his father makes the terrible discovery that his own son has fallen into a life of crime in a drama based on a true story. Vincent LaMarca (Robert DeNiro) is a dedicated and well-respected New York City police detective who has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his past; four decades earlier, Vincent's father Angelo killed a young child, and since then Vincent has carried emotional scars from this incident that he refuses to show to the world. Vincent lives alone in a small apartment building, though he has nurtured a close if tentative relationship with his downstairs neighbor, Michelle (Frances McDormand). One day, Vincent and his partner, Reg Duffy (George Dzundza), are assigned to investigate a murder when the body of a young man is found dead in a dumpster. It turns out the body was that of a drug dealer, and the dealer's partner in crime, Spyder (William Forsythe), believes the killer was one of his regular customers -- a junkie would-be musician who calls himself Snake (Brian Tarantina). City By the Sea was adapted from a piece by journalist Mike McAlary which first appeared in Esquire magazine; the cast also includes Eliza Dushku and Anson Mount.

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Keywords

conflict-of-interest, drug-addiction, drug-dealer, estrangement, murder, murder-suspect, police-detective, police-investigation, son