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City by the Sea
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Metascore
50 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.0 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 15 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Frances McDormand, James Franco, Robert De Niro
  • Summary: The gripping story of a dedicated police officer who discovers that the chief suspect in his current murder investigation is his own son. (Warner Bros.)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 34
  3. Negative: 3 out of 34
  1. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chuck Wilson
    80
    For the first time in years, De Niro digs deep emotionally, perhaps because he's been stirred by the powerful work of his co-stars, including a subtle Frances McDormand and a ferocious Patti LuPone, as well as the heartbreaking (and achingly beautiful) Franco.
  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Collin Levey
    60
    Notwithstanding a thin script and a color-by-numbers ending, the movie is redeemed by its solid performances.
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  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    30
    The role plays all too easily into De Niro's worst current habits. He's dulled himself out in the service of a phony kitchen-sink pseudo-realism. For De Niro, less has become less.

See all 34 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. JohnN.
    9
    I thought this was a beautifully constructed movie; a gripping story, great casting and understandably strong performances. Notably, I welcomed the minimal use of music to tell me how I should feel; the script and performances were largely left to stand on their strengths. It's a mystery to me that this movie had such poor reviews, although perhaps it suited the DVD medium on which we viewed it. Highly recommended.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 14 User Reviews

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