City Island

Truth is stranger than family
City Island (2009)
1:44 (104 min)
7.3/10
57 422
—
no scores
6.9/10
410
7.3/10
33000
Rate the movie:
Release date
Budget
$6 000 000
Revenue
$7 875 862
Composer
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Producer
Actors
Photo Andy García
Andy García
Vince Rizzo
Photo Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Molly Charlesworth
Photo Ezra Miller
Ezra Miller
Vince Jr.
Photo Dominik Garcia
Dominik Garcia
Vivian Rizzo
Photo Carrie Baker Reynolds
Carrie Baker Reynolds
Denise
Hope Glendon-Ross
Cheryl
All actors and roles (10)

Short description

City Island is a comedy-drama about the Rizzo family, who live in a quiet corner of the Bronx and keep their real lives hidden from one another. Vince Rizzo works as a corrections officer but dreams of becoming an actor. His wife Joyce is restless and unhappy, while their daughter Vivian pretends to be a college student and their son Vince Jr. nurses a private fixation. Vince brings home a young ex-convict named Tony, ostensibly as hired help, though he has a deeper reason for doing so that he does not share with his family. As Tony settles in, the stories the Rizzos have told each other begin to come apart.

Raymond De Felitta wrote and directed the film, his third feature after Cafe Society and The Thing About My Folks. Andy García, who also produced, leads the cast as Vince, with Julianna Margulies as Joyce, Steven Strait as Tony, Emily Mortimer as Molly Charlesworth, Ezra Miller as Vince Jr. and Dominik Garcia as Vivian. The production cost about 6 million dollars and took roughly 8 million at the worldwide box office.

On IMDb the film holds a 7.3 rating from around 33,000 votes, a strong figure for a modest independent release. On TMDB it stands at 6.9 from roughly 410 votes. The critics' score of 6.7 from 101 reviews places it close to the audience ratings, suggesting broad middle-ground approval.

What's left behind the scenes

  • Dominique Garcia-Lorido, who played Vivian Rizzo, is the daughter of Andy Garcia, who played Vince Rizzo.
  • The lead role was initially offered to Michelle Pfeiffer. The actress liked the script, but the matter never progressed to signing a contract. After failing to secure Michelle Pfeiffer, the filmmakers turned to Marsha Gay Harden. Like Pfeiffer, the actress stated that she liked the script, but ultimately declined to participate in the filming.
  • The characters, and especially Tommy, smoke low-tar cigarettes throughout the film. These are specially produced for cinema.

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