Sea of Love is directed by Harold Becker and written by Richard Price. It stars Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker and William Hickey. Music is by Trevor Jones and Ronnie Taylor is the cinematographer. Plot has Pacino as New York Police Detective Frank Keller, a borderline alcoholic and lonely after his wife left him for one of his colleagues. Tracking a serial killer of men, an investigation set-up leads him to date a number of women with the idea of obtaining forensic evidence off of the wine glasses. One of these women is sultry blonde, Helen Cruger (Barkin), who Frank starts to have a passionate relationship with...
The erotic thriller is a tough premise to get right on film, so many elements have to fall in to place for the film to win over critics and film goers alike. Chemistry of lead cast members, a gripping plot, plausible outcome, and so on. Too many over the years have failed miserably at it, resorting to either gratuitous tactics or simple star casting to entice the paying public in to the theater. Sea of Love is not a complete success, but it's certainly one of the best of its type. Were it not for a weak murder motive that's not fully explored, resulting in something of an unsatisfying finale, we would probably be talking about Sea of Love being the template movie for the erotic thriller.
This movie of the same name, made 30 years later, evidently uses "Sea of Love," an evergreen rock and roll hit, as a theme. The song was written by New Orleans native John Phillip Baptiste, AKA Phil Phillips, who had a hit with it on its first release in 1959. John Goodman brings a lot to this movie: he ably supports the stars, when they've got their clothes on, playing Pacino's new cop partner Sherman Touhey. And when the Missouri-born Goodman delivers an "acapella" version of "Sea of Love," in that New Orleans accent he's entitled to use, well, he just stops the show. This movie has great New York ambiance, a good plot, good acting, a good sound track, Ellen Barkin at her most gorgeous, hot sex scenes, and touches of humor. It stands up to repeated viewings, and like Mr. Dangerfield, it deserves some respect.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10.
The erotic thriller is a tough premise to get right on film, so many elements have to fall in to place for the film to win over critics and film goers alike. Chemistry of lead cast members, a gripping plot, plausible outcome, and so on. Too many over the years have failed miserably at it, resorting to either gratuitous tactics or simple star casting to entice the paying public in to the theater. Sea of Love is not a complete success, but it's certainly one of the best of its type. Were it not for a weak murder motive that's not fully explored, resulting in something of an unsatisfying finale, we would probably be talking about Sea of Love being the template movie for the erotic thriller.
This movie of the same name, made 30 years later, evidently uses "Sea of Love," an evergreen rock and roll hit, as a theme. The song was written by New Orleans native John Phillip Baptiste, AKA Phil Phillips, who had a hit with it on its first release in 1959. John Goodman brings a lot to this movie: he ably supports the stars, when they've got their clothes on, playing Pacino's new cop partner Sherman Touhey. And when the Missouri-born Goodman delivers an "acapella" version of "Sea of Love," in that New Orleans accent he's entitled to use, well, he just stops the show. This movie has great New York ambiance, a good plot, good acting, a good sound track, Ellen Barkin at her most gorgeous, hot sex scenes, and touches of humor. It stands up to repeated viewings, and like Mr. Dangerfield, it deserves some respect.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10.