Vincent LaMarca (DeNiro) is New York City detective who prefers to keep to himself; he even keeps his girlfriend (McDormand) at arm's length ... and she lives just downstairs! But his latest case takes a twist that's far too close to home, leading him and his partner (Dzundza) to his old hometown of Long Beach, a decaying seaside resort. The prime suspect is Vincent's junkie son (Franco), who is entangled with a drug dealer (Forsythe) and a single mother (Dushku) ... and who barely knows his father.

There's a lot more here, and it's the film's factual origins that make the story compelling ... because it's just too good to be fiction! The characters are all extremely complex and interesting people, and all are very well-played by the cast. That Franco can hold his own in his scenes with DeNiro is no mean feat, but then DeNiro is in muted, hollow-man mode (and starting to look and act rather a lot like Danny Aiello).

Caton-Jones directs with a nice sense of style--dark and grainy, gritty authenticity, real life bubbling under a suppressed, difficult surface. And the intricate connections between four generations of LaMarca men is unveiled with restraint and insight. And yet, it all ultimately feels like just another cop thriller, really, right down to the requisite showdown finale and a corny conclusion.