Taglines: When you’re searching for a killer… the last suspect you want to see is your son.
City by the Sea movie storyline. New York City homicide detective Vincent LaMarca has forged a long and distinguished career in law enforcement, making a name for himself as a man intensely committed to his work. But on his latest case, the stakes are higher for Vincent–the suspect he’s investigating is his own son.
He and Joey have been painfully estranged ever since Vincent divorced his wife and left the decaying boardwalks of Long Beach, Long Island for the anonymity of Manhattan and a successful career with the NYPD. He lives his life in solitude, keeping his girlfriend at arm’s length; the closest relationship he maintains is with his partner, Reg–and Vincent makes sure that stops at the precinct door.
As long as Vincent lives in the protection of the present, he doesn’t have to deal with the pain of his past–or his sorrow over his broken relationship with Joey. But this murder investigation is drawing Vincent home to Long Beach, the self-proclaimed City by the Sea, where the past has been waiting for him to return.
The agonizing memory that has tortured him all his life–the death of his father, a convicted murderer who was executed when Vincent was just a boy–still plagues him. In the course of the investigation, he discovers that his own unresolved pain and failures as a father have deeply influenced Joey’s life, and now his 18-month-old grandson may be fated to follow their self-destructive paths.
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.
Although the story is mostly set in the New York City (Including the World Trade Center which was not edited out after September 11 attacks) oceanfront suburb of Long Beach, New York, south of Long Island, whose municipal slogan actually is Civitas Ad Mare – Latin for “The City by the Sea”—actual location filming was done in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
There is a disclaimer in the credits at the end of the film, which includes scenes set on a shabby, dilapidated-looking boardwalk and in a ruined and abandoned casino/arcade building—explicitly stating that it was not actually filmed in Long Beach . Filming took place in early 2001.
City by the Sea (2002)
Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
Starring: Robert De Niro, James Franco, Frances McDormand, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, Patti LuPone, Anson Mount, John Doman, Drena De Niro, Linda Emond
Screenplay by: Ken Hixon
Production Design by: Jane Musky
Cinematography by: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Film Editing by: Jim Clark
Costume Design by: Richard Owings
Set Decoration by: Lynn Tonnessen
Art Direction by: Patricia Woodbridge
Music by: John Murphy
MPAA Rating: R for language, drug use and some violence.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: September 6, 2002
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