Review of City Island (2009) by Chris M — 23 Aug 2010

"Oh dear. Greek in scope.".

I haven't seen a family drama/comedy this good and refreshing in quite some time. I only decided to see City Island because Emily Mortimer was in it; the plot description that I read didn't exactly sell me on the movie, if I'm being honest. But, I ended up really enjoying it.

The plot's too complicated and spread out for me to go into detail, but it's basically about a family that lives on City Island in Brooklyn. A family that's full of more secrets and lies than should even be theoretically possible. The father is keeping his acting lessons a secret from his wife, and one of his sons a secret from everyone (including the son, who's fresh out of prison). His other teenage son is hiding a rather amusing fetish. His daughter is hiding her risqué job and the truth about her school. As you can imagine, endless complications and misunderstandings result that could have easily been avoided by a little honesty and trust.

Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer, and Andy Garcia were all absolutely excellent in this. I'd go so far as to say that it's the best performance of Mortimer's career. The script is funny and emotionally engaging, and I really couldn't have asked for a better ending. If you even vaguely enjoy this kind of film, you would be doing yourself a favor by giving City Island a viewing. I found it to be a very pleasant surprise.