Posted: 09/19/2010

City Island

(2009)

by Shannon Huebscher

There are very few films in which all of the actors are not only perfectly cast, but also perform brilliantly together - City Island is one of those films. The movie takes place in the Bronx in a little-known area called City Island, which is an actual island that is known mostly as a fishing village. Andy García plays Vince Rizzo, a lifelong resident of City Island who works as a correctional officer at a nearby prison and is keeping a huge secret from his family: he fathered a child with a woman before he was married but left her before she gave birth. In a strange twist of fate, Vince ends up finding his long-lost son (played by Steven Strait) and brings him home to his family under false pretenses. We learn that the secrets don’t just stop there - his youngest son (played by Ezra Miller) has an interesting sexual fetish and his daughter (played by García’s real-life daughter Dominik García-Lorido) is making money in a controversial way. To top it all off, Vince’s wife is played by the fantastic Julianna Margulies, who is as feisty and complex as they come.

City Island is a film that is brilliantly acted, carries an interesting and unique story line, and is an all-around fantastic movie. A must-see!

The DVD also has an audio commentary from the director and Andy García, a special featurette of “Dinner with the Rizzos” and also some deleted scenes.

Shannon Huebscher is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis.

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