City by the Sea is a 2002 suspense drama about a New York homicide detective who is forced to conquer his past demons after returning to his old neighborhood to investigate a homicide. The detective, Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro), is a dedicated lawman who has made it a point to distance himself from the less than stellar reputation associated with his last name. Four decades earlier, Vincent's father Angelo (Michael Dellafemina) ruthlessly killed a young child, and Vincent has carried the emotional scars from the incident with him since. One day, Vincent and his partner (George Dzundza) are assigned to investigate a murder of young man who was left in a dumpster in his old Long Island neighborhood. During the investigation, he discovers that one of the prime suspects in the case is his own estranged son Joey (James Franco), whom he abandoned in Long Island along with his wife years earlier. Now seeing Joey as a junkie and murder suspect, Vince reflects on his own failures as a father and the impact it has had on his son.moreless