Sea of Love

Sea of Love, 1989

After the roaring success of Scarface in 1983, Al Pacino had a mid 80's lull. He starred in the disappointing Revolution in 1985 before his longest film hiatus in the last 40 years. It wasn't until Sea of Love in 1989 that he returned to movie theatres.

Directed by Harold Becker (Malice, Mercury Rising), Sea of Love's leading man is Frank Keller (Pacino) - a hard drinking New York detective on the hunt for a serial killer with a penchant for rhyming love poetry. His partner on the case, Sherman (John Goodman), is full of beans and together they invent an orgininal way of setting a trap. But mid investigation, a scarlet woman (Ellen Barkin) enters the frame and poor old Frank is sent into a tailspin.

The build up in this movie is terrific - sharp writing and vibrant characters make it buzz along. Pacino is very good with this sort of material - goading colleagues, wooing women etc. and Goodman is just as enjoyable.

There's a scene between Pacino and Barkin that would be better suited in a David Attenborough doco but I'll let you decide whether it's really good or really bad.

There is nothing too remarkable about Sea of Love but it did mark the start of an incredibly busy period for Pacino. Between 89 & 93 he made 8 films including Godfather III, Scent of a Woman, Glengarry Glen Ross & Carlito's Way. I wonder what a complete disaster would have done to his career ? Instead it was a confidence builder for a movie legend.

6/10 Nutbuckle