Review of City Island (2009) by Secretagentgal — 18 Sep 2010

With creative mastery and verve, writer director Raymond De Felitta steps outside the Hollywood formula in the refreshing indie comedy City Island. City Island, a mostly Italian-American fishing village in the Bronx, is marked by the Rizzo family's strong ties and passions writ large. Each Rizzo harbors a secret, and the resulting clash of lies and half-truths keeps conflict sauteing.

Andy Garcia movingly plays Vince Rizzo, proud native of City Island and prison guard. Vince secretly takes acting classes in Manhattan led by burnout teacher Michael Malakov (Alan Arkin). Joyce Rizzo (Julianna Margulies) is convinced that Vince's weekly poker night is a ruse to cover up an affair. The blue-collar couple sacrificed college plans for family commitments. College is no guarantee of happiness, however, for daughter Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Garcia's real-life daughter). She secretly works as a stripper, looking to earn tuition and reapply after losing her scholarship. Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) conceals his ongoing internet fetish for feeding obese women.

Things really heat up when Vince recognizes an inmate one day. Tony (the excellent Steven Strait) is his son from a long-ago affair. Tony is due for release, but has no family member to sponsor him. When Vince brings Tony home on the pretense of having him install an extra bathroom, Joyce goes ballistic. Vince tells no one that Tony is his son.

Another excellent subplot involves Vince's secret meetings with acting partner Molly (emotive Emily Mortimer). The two must share their biggest secret with each other to prepare for a class monologue. Molly coaches Vince before his audition for a Scorsese movie. The friends share a romance not for each other, but for life and its possibilities.

City Island's good times become apparent only in retrospect. Resentments smolder and occasionally explode into scream fests. Each major character faces a dilemma: tell the truth, or engage in the acrobatics of deception. While this can be entertaining to watch, it's painfully uncomfortable for the Rizzos.