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A crime drama starring Robert DeNiro and directed by the man who brought us such disparate fare as The Jackal and Doc Hollywood, City by the Sea is reportedly based on an article in Esquire magazine about a New York City cop whose father was executed for murder.

In the film version, Detective Vincent Lamarca (DeNiro) is not only the son of a murderer, but the father of one as well; his estranged son from his first marriage is now a junkie wanted for murder, and Lamarca must choose between his duty as a police officer and his duty as a father. Apparently, the fact that the murder suspect Lamarca is chasing is actually his son was originally supposed to be a plot twist; much is being made of the fact that nobody bothered to inform the trades of this, and they published synopses including that bit of information. Thus, the main thing that might have lifted this above your run-of-the-mill family melodrama with a side dish of detective story has now been removed, and we're left with something that sounds only mildly interesting and somewhat clichéd on paper.

The cast, headed by DeNiro and including such stalwarts as George Dzundza, Frances McDormand and Patti LuPone mixing it up with up-and-comers such as Eliza Dushku and James Franco, is first-rate. A good thing in light of the proverbial bean-spilling, since distributor Warner Bros. will likely rely largely on the cast as a selling point. A big marketing push and a good trailer will be important. It remains to be seen what Warner Bros. does as the film gets closer to release. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)

Vital statistics for City by the Sea Main Cast Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand Supporting Cast George Dzundza, Eliza Dushku, James Franco, Drea DeNiro Director Michael Caton-Jones Screenwriter Ken Hixon Distributor Warner Bros. Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://citybythesea.warnerbros.com/ Rating R Running Time 108 minutes Screen Count 2,575 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for City by the Sea
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Score, The	7/13/01	19.02	20.30	2129	8933.00	9170.2	71.07	75.85	3.74
Men of Honor	11/10/00	13.34	14.92	2092	6377.00	6862.1	48.75	54.53	3.65
Ronin	9/25/98	12.70	16.32	2487	5107.00	6315.7	41.61	53.49	3.28
15 Minutes	3/9/01	10.52	11.22	2337	4503.00	4622.5	24.38	26.02	2.32
Insider, The	11/5/99	6.71	7.99	1810	3707.00	4232.4	28.97	34.52	4.32