SEA OF LOVE (1989) C widescreen 113m dir: Harold Becker

w/Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker, William Hickey, Richard Jenkins, Paul Calderon, Gene Canfield, Larry Joshua, John Spencer

From The Movie Guide: "A thriller featuring a mysterious femme fatale, an involving plot, and some nice offbeat twists, SEA OF LOVE owes a good deal to Hitchcock, and to such recent efforts as FATAL ATTRACTION and JAGGED EDGE, though it can claim plenty of originality as well. Several men who have responded to the personals in a popular New York magazine have been found murdered in their beds. Twenty-year veteran cop Frank Keller (Al Pacino), a stressed-out borderline alcoholic, and Sherman (John Goodman), a jolly family man, team up to track the killer, planting an ad and 'dating' the respondents. Breaking the first rule of investigation, Keller gets deeply involved with one respondent, a tough and savvy single mother (Ellen Barkin). He becomes caught in a web of infatuation and rough, steamy sex, despite signs that she might be the killer. Beyond its slight (though satisfying) plot, SEA OF LOVE's strength lies in the realism of its characterizations. Writer Richard Price is a master at contriving sympathetic, believable characters. His dialogue here, the skewed, elliptical jargon of urban social maneuvering, is dead on. Director Harold Becker (THE ONION FIELD; TAPS) skillfully and unobtrusively supports the drama with just the right lighting, details, and mood. Pacino gives perhaps his best film performance since DOG DAY AFTERNOON; Barkin matches him well as the hard-bitten, voraciously carnal suspect. SEA OF LOVE captures the emotional risk and false hope of the urban singles scene so accurately it's almost painful to watch."