I realize it's early in the year, but so far this year it seems that most of the new movies coming out of Hollywood have been mediocre and forgettable.
The good news is that Raymond De Ferlitta's new film, "City Island," isn't one of them. It is an excellent movie, with the perfect blend of comedy and drama, and a complex, character-driven story.
Welcome to City Island, located in the Bronx. And meet the Rizzo family. They are a chaotic mess. Every night they quarrel and bicker so much they can't even finish dinner.
Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia), the man of the house, is a correctional officer at the local prison, where-surprise--he discovers that he has a 25-year-old son named Tony (Steven Strait) who happens to be an inmate. Vince decides to bring his son home to live with his chaotic family, which consists of his wife, Joyce (Juilanna Margulies), his son Vince Jr (Ezra Miller), and daughter Vivian (Dominik Garcia Lorido). But even Tony's arrival doesn't stop the family from their usual routine of attacking one another.
This plot is too complicated to sum up in a couple of sentences, but a major theme is lying and keeping secrets. Each family member has at least one secret he or she is hiding.
Vince aspires to be an actor and is taking acting classes while his wife thinks he's playing poker. Vivian is supposed to be at college but has been suspended and is now working as a stripper to raise money to get back into college. Joyce is secretly depressed and unhappy with Vince, and ends up almost having an affair with Tony (without knowing he's Vince's son). And finally Vince Jr, who on the surface appears to be a confused and troubled kid, has his own issues with a certain kind of woman.
All of these secrets may seem overwhelming but they are what make the film compelling and gives it depth. It keeps you interested and wanting to see more. The family members go to great lengths to hide the truth from one another, almost ashamed to share who they really are. And because of that, their family relationship is falling apart.
For example, when Vince meets a woman in acting class named Molly (Emily Mortimer), they hang out together (nothing romantic) and she encourages him to try out for a role in a movie. Vince is too scared of Joyce to tell her the truth, and of course Joyce believes he is having an affair.
All this sounds pretty dramatic, but there are also plenty of laughs. None of the cast members try too hard to be funny; the humor comes naturally, which added to their depth and helped to develop the story. Even in the moments of conflict, the humor still managed to find its way in.
Written by De Ferlitta, "City Island" is full of multi-dimensional characters who despite all of their problems, work well together.
"City Island" is definitely one of the best films I've seen this year. It's funny, dramatic, original, and you actually care about the characters. Maybe spring is finally here.[[In-content Ad]]
