City Island
3/4
Starring: Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Ezra Miller, Steven Strait, Emily Mortimer, Dominik Garcia-Lorido
Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content, Smoking and Language
The first time I watched "City Island," I didn't like it. I said in my review (in general), "the characters in this film do three things: smoke, lie and talk in low gravelly voices." But a number of the scenes and characters got stuck in my head, and after seeing the trailer again and reading reviews, I decided to give it another shot. I'm glad I did. "City Island" is a lot of fun.
The Rizzos are a dysfunctional family living in the Bronx. Vince (Garcia) is a blue-collar prison guard who is so ashamed of his love for acting that he lies about taking an acting class to his wife and says that he's going to a poker game. Naturally, his wife Joyce (Margulies), doesn't believe this for a second, and thinks he's having an affair. His daughter Vivian (Garcia-Lorido) is not in college as her family thinks she is; instead, she's working as a stripper. And their son, Vince Jr. (Miller) harbors a secret love for big women, like his neighbor across the street. Then there's Tony (Strait), an ex-con who is Vince's son from an affair long before he met Joyce (which, I might add, he hasn't told anyone about). Throughout the course of this movie, these secrets will force the characters into tighter and tighter moral quandaries.
Although it may seem like I have given away half the plot, I have not. This is all set-up. The meat of the movie is establishing the characters and how they interact with each other, and how they deal with these secrets (which most characters don't know about).
If you name an actor to play a blue collar Joe Blo, chances are you'd probably think of Robert DeNiro (who is mentioned by name in this movie) rather than Andy Garcia. Within the first few minutes, it becomes clear that Garcia is the only man who could have done this role. Garcia's range is limited ("When a Man Loves a Woman," anyone?), but this has to be one of his best performances, if not the best (I'll have to watch "The Man from Elysian Fields" again). Garcia is so good that we can not only see ourselves in him, but our parents as well. Equally strong is Julianna Margulies, who deserves more fame than she actually gets. As the acid-tongued Joyce, Margulies tosses off some biting lines with relish, but also gives the character a vulnerable side. Ezra Miller's character is essentially superfluous, but he's so good and plays such an interesting character that he earns every second of his screen time. Dominik Garcia-Delgado (Garcia's real-life daughter) is also good, but underused. Steven Strait is uneven, but usually effective. The best performance goes to Emily Mortimer, who plays Vince's bubbly acting partner Molly. It's the knid of role that she does so well and it's always a joy to see her on screen.
What sets this film apart is its specificity and inventiveness. The characters are real, but the details that writer/director Raymond de Felitta uses to paint them with are unique. I don't think I've ever seen a teenage boy's fetish for fat women treated in such an honest way (frankly, I don't recall seeing a teenage boy who loves fat women period). Also having a ring of truth is Vince's audition for a DeNiro/Scorcese movie (no cameos by either of them, although you can bet de Felitta asked). This stuff is both inventive and realistic, and de Felitta knows just how to tweak it to make it funny while still being honest.
The film is curiously edited. de Felitta interweaves all of the plotlines together, but it's not seamless. The edits are at times jarring, but only mildly so. And at 143 minutes, it's a little long.
Still, this is a movie that is worth seeing again and again, and it will likely grow on you.
Starring: Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Ezra Miller, Steven Strait, Emily Mortimer, Dominik Garcia-Lorido
Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content, Smoking and Language
The first time I watched "City Island," I didn't like it. I said in my review (in general), "the characters in this film do three things: smoke, lie and talk in low gravelly voices." But a number of the scenes and characters got stuck in my head, and after seeing the trailer again and reading reviews, I decided to give it another shot. I'm glad I did. "City Island" is a lot of fun.
The Rizzos are a dysfunctional family living in the Bronx. Vince (Garcia) is a blue-collar prison guard who is so ashamed of his love for acting that he lies about taking an acting class to his wife and says that he's going to a poker game. Naturally, his wife Joyce (Margulies), doesn't believe this for a second, and thinks he's having an affair. His daughter Vivian (Garcia-Lorido) is not in college as her family thinks she is; instead, she's working as a stripper. And their son, Vince Jr. (Miller) harbors a secret love for big women, like his neighbor across the street. Then there's Tony (Strait), an ex-con who is Vince's son from an affair long before he met Joyce (which, I might add, he hasn't told anyone about). Throughout the course of this movie, these secrets will force the characters into tighter and tighter moral quandaries.
Although it may seem like I have given away half the plot, I have not. This is all set-up. The meat of the movie is establishing the characters and how they interact with each other, and how they deal with these secrets (which most characters don't know about).
If you name an actor to play a blue collar Joe Blo, chances are you'd probably think of Robert DeNiro (who is mentioned by name in this movie) rather than Andy Garcia. Within the first few minutes, it becomes clear that Garcia is the only man who could have done this role. Garcia's range is limited ("When a Man Loves a Woman," anyone?), but this has to be one of his best performances, if not the best (I'll have to watch "The Man from Elysian Fields" again). Garcia is so good that we can not only see ourselves in him, but our parents as well. Equally strong is Julianna Margulies, who deserves more fame than she actually gets. As the acid-tongued Joyce, Margulies tosses off some biting lines with relish, but also gives the character a vulnerable side. Ezra Miller's character is essentially superfluous, but he's so good and plays such an interesting character that he earns every second of his screen time. Dominik Garcia-Delgado (Garcia's real-life daughter) is also good, but underused. Steven Strait is uneven, but usually effective. The best performance goes to Emily Mortimer, who plays Vince's bubbly acting partner Molly. It's the knid of role that she does so well and it's always a joy to see her on screen.
What sets this film apart is its specificity and inventiveness. The characters are real, but the details that writer/director Raymond de Felitta uses to paint them with are unique. I don't think I've ever seen a teenage boy's fetish for fat women treated in such an honest way (frankly, I don't recall seeing a teenage boy who loves fat women period). Also having a ring of truth is Vince's audition for a DeNiro/Scorcese movie (no cameos by either of them, although you can bet de Felitta asked). This stuff is both inventive and realistic, and de Felitta knows just how to tweak it to make it funny while still being honest.
The film is curiously edited. de Felitta interweaves all of the plotlines together, but it's not seamless. The edits are at times jarring, but only mildly so. And at 143 minutes, it's a little long.
Still, this is a movie that is worth seeing again and again, and it will likely grow on you.
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