Sea of Love (1989)

Some of my friends thought this is one of those films that is great the first time you see it, but diminishes after that because the heavy suspense questions have been answered. However, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin and John Goodman are all so entertaining to watch that I've always enjoyed this film no matter how many times I've seen it.

The suspense is what this film is all about, but I am fascinated with these actors, including supporting performances by Michael Rooker and William Hickey. Although her looks are a little hard and her mouth way too profane for my tastes, Barkin never looked better and sexier. That Pacino's character, "Detective Frank Keller" would fall for her is understandable, especially know what part of his anatomy is doing the "talking." However, adultery, once again is excused in this film along with other not-so-moral acts so this isn't a film you want to show to your church group. All three of the leads are very weak, ethically-speaking.

The fact that this film can go on for almost two hours with very little action and still keep you riveted to your seat speaks highly of its entertainment value. Why critics knocked it so much, I don't know. Hey, it's good entertainment. What more do you want?

Fmovies: In Manhattan, Detective Frank Keller (Al Pacino) is an efficient and veteran cop with twenty years on the force, who is lonely and misses his ex-wife Denise. She left him to live with his colleague from the same precinct Gruber (Richard Jenkins). When a killer kills his victim with a shot on the neck and leaves a single playing "Sea of Love", Frank is in charge of the investigation. Detective Sherman, from a district outside Manhattan, joins Frank when a second victim is killed in the same MO. They find that both victims have written poetry in the lonely hearts column of the single magazine "New York Weekly". When there is a third case, Frank convinces his chief to write for the magazine and work undercover investigating the women that reply the advertisement. Frank fall in love for the prime suspect, the manager of a shoe store Helen Cruger (Ellen Barkin), jeopardizing his investigation.

"Sea of Love" is one of the best and most underrated thrillers ever. I do not know how many times I have seen this movie since the release in the movie theaters, then on VHS and now on DVD. The classy story is a film-noir perfectly developed, and shows one of the most erotic love scenes of the cinema history. Al Pacino is simply perfect, showing a perfect chemistry with the sexy Ellen Barkin, who is in the top of her career, and also with John Goodman. The soundtrack is also one of the most beautiful of the cinema, and the CD with eleven songs is fantastic. Samuel L Jackson, in the beginning of career, plays a criminal in the story with a minor participation. My vote is nine.

Title(Brazil): "Vítimas de uma Paixão" ("Victims of a Passion")

Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin sizzle in this murder-mystery/love-story. For all those guys out there that are forced to watch 'chick flicks' and for the ladies that sit through over violent action thrillers, here is a movie both will enjoy. Pacino has made a career at attracting both men and women in his movies and you will be hard pressed to find a more beautiful woman than Barkin in this movie. John Goodman is a Detective and Pacino's partner reminiscent of another very good Ellen Barkin Love-Thriller 'The Big Easy' with Dennis Quaid. In 'Sea Of Love' the passionate love making combined with several possible endings in classic 'who-done-it?' style, will keep your attention and mood in check. Light candles and break out the wine you won't be sorry.

Sea of Love fmovies. A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit. Very enjoyable, immersive and some of the best acting ever!

Within a kind of light and shadow there's almost a trademark photography for a film noir movie, and "Sea of Love" is a film that takes place in the shadowsÂ…

Al Pacino plays Frank Teller, a self-conscious detective—in search of a serial killer—drawn into a torrid sexual relationship with an attractive young woman he met in a super market when all the good citizens of the city are asleep and the people who are walking around are the ones who are leading the most solitary lives…

Helen Barkin is just so right for the partÂ… You can believe her when you see her dressed in her red leather jacket and tight jeansÂ… She's a lady of the night, sexy as hell, and a woman who can take care of herselfÂ… Between her and Pacino, there were enough attraction that's deep but also there were feelings of vulnerability and suspicionÂ…

Al Pacino is excellent as the lonely and alcoholic Frank Keller, a veteran New York City cop, hot on the trail of a serial killer. In addition to Keller, and his tough-minded romantic interest, Helen, played well by Ellen Barkin, a third major character is the city wherein the story takes place. Ronnie Taylor's noirish cinematography and Trevor Jones' appropriately downbeat score paint rather a lonely picture of nighttime Manhattan, with all that colorful and flashy neon and the dreary rain. The overall effect is a sense of psychological isolation, alienation, and ... danger.

It's a perfect setting for a story about a series of murders, seemingly tied together by oldies-but-goodies songs. Keller searches for a killer who seems normal, but on the inside is a smoldering volcano. As a murder mystery, "Sea Of Love" works, because of its focus, and because of its restrictive narration. The viewer knows what Frank Keller knows, but nothing more. Clues are very subtle, and lie more in what is not said, than what is said. The ending was a surprise to me. I did not see it coming.

I have a couple of problems with the film, neither of which is serious. First, there are several plot segments that seem unnecessary, and could have been edited out. Second, certain scenes involving the victims are confusing.

"Sea Of Love" is a mystery/thriller that I recommend highly. It is psychologically intense, and it has an atmosphere that is suitably sinister. The acting, the music, the cinematography, the script, and the production design are all credible. And I could listen all day to that oldies-but-goodies song by Phil Phillips, from 1959.