Numerous movies have been made about how drugs ruin the lives of good people and cause a devastating impact on their families. City by the Sea follows this drug addiction theme while also dealing with another issue – trying to overcome a father’s sins that have cast an unbearable shadow on his son.

Robert De Niro plays New York City homicide detective Vincent LaMarca, who became a cop to make up for his tainted past. His father was electrocuted for killing an infant. LaMarca’s own personal life, however, has not been a shining example of how to triumph over adversity. He’s divorced, having walked out on his wife and son, Joey (James Franco). Joey – now a young man who has also fathered a baby – is a strung-out drug addict who steals and will even kill to get his fix.

When Vincent begins a murder investigation and discovers his son is the suspect, his own life unravels yet again. Vincent’s first ordeal involves explaining all of his past to Michelle (Frances McDormand), his lover who lives upstairs and maintains a distant relationship with him.

In a predictable story that staggers and unravels at a snail’s pace, even big name talents aren’t much help. The terrific McDormand (who won an Oscar for Fargo and has been amazing in other films) exhibits about as much exuberance in this role as she would if engaged in window-shopping.

Master performer De Niro doesn’t fare much better. As LaMarca, he shows little emotion at anytime during the film as layer after layer of devastation is thrust upon him. De Niro looks and acts the same in almost every scene. Where are those stellar moments we have seen in such films as Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter and Goodfellas?

Still, if there’s a reason to see City by the Sea, it’s James Franco. Not quite a household name yet, Franco earned several awards for his TV performance as James Dean, was a regular on Freaks and Geeks and recently co-starred in Spider-man. Franco reaches new acting heights in this new role.

"I needed to find someone who had both a youthfulness and a maturity and who wouldn’t be intimated working with De Niro," said director Michael Caton-Jones.

Jones certainly found the right actor in Franco. This rising star wears the torn threads of his dysfunctional family like an old coat – while easily displaying the pain of his father’s abandonment as an excuse for his own failure.

City by the Sea, based on a 1997 Esquire article "Mark of a Murderer" by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike McAlary, conveys an important moral. We have to accept responsibility for our actions, and although we can’t change our past, we can have a positive influence on future generations.

(Released by Warner Bros. and rated "R" for language, drug use and some violence.)