Sea of Love (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Sea of Love


caption= Original film poster
imdb_id = 0098273
writer = Richard Price
starring = Al Pacino
Ellen Barkin
John Goodman
Michael Rooker
William Hickey
Richard Jenkins
Paul Calderon
Samuel L Jackson
director = Harold Becker
editing = David Bretherton
producer = Martin Bregman
distributor = MCA/Universal
released = September 15, 1989
runtime = 113 min.
language = English
music = Trevor Jones
awards =
budget = unknown

"Sea of Love" is a 1989 crime/thriller film about New York City detective Frank Keller trying to catch a serial killer who finds victims through the lonely hearts column in newspapers. It stars Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin and John Goodman.

The movie was written by Richard Price and directed by Harold Becker. It is credited as the film that pulled Pacino out of his slump of film failures that occupied much of the 1980s.

Plot summary

New York Police detective Frank Keller (Al Pacino) investigates the murder of a man in Manhattan, shot dead while face down naked in his bed while listening to a 45rpm recording of "Sea of Love". Keller has three clues - a lipstick-smeared cigarette, a wanted ad the dead man placed in a newspaper and a perfect set of fingerprints. Immediate suspicion falls on a vengeful woman who answered his lonely hearts personal advertisement.

A second man dies in the same manner in Queens. Detective Sherman Touhey (John Goodman) suggests they collaborate. Both victims had put rhyming ads in the paper. They track down Raymond Brown (Michael O'Neill), the only other man with a rhyming ad. He's a married man and admits placing the ad, but swears on his children's lives that he threw away all the letters and never saw anyone.

Keller has an idea - place their own rhyming ad in the paper, take any women who respond to a restaurant and take the prints from their glasses. Keller's boss (John Spencer) thinks it is a bad idea and does not approve the idea. He changes his mind when Raymond Brown also turns up dead in the same manner as the other two murder victims.

Keller has dinner with several women, while Sherman — posing as a waiter — puts their empty glasses into evidence bags. One of the women, Helen Cruger (Ellen Barkin) snubs Keller and leaves before she takes a drink. Keller bumps into her again at a market, but this time, Cruger is more friendly. Keller takes Cruger to his place, ostensibly to get her fingerprints. He panics when he finds a gun in her purse, but it turns up to be just a starting pistol.

Keller and Cruger begin a serious relationship. Keller has a chance to obtain Cruger's fingerprints on a glass, but decides to wipe the glass clean. Their relationship proves rocky when Cruger discovers that Keller is a cop.

Cruger's ex-husband Terry (Michael Rooker) breaks into Keller's apartment and threatens him with a gun. He makes Keller lie on his bed and show him how he made love to Helen, just as he had done with his ex-wife's other three boyfriends. Keller overpowers Terry and tries to call the police, but the killer is wild and lunges at him. In the struggle, Terry is accidentally thrown through the window and plunges to his death.

Keller and Cruger reunite. She forgives him, and they resume their relationship.

Trivia

*There is a deleted scene in the movie (not included in the DVD or VHS versions) showing Keller having a brief heated exchange with his ex-wife, Denice Gruber (played by Lorraine Bracco). Interestingly, the scene is sometimes shown when the movie is broadcast on television networks.
*After Cruger leaves the room to talk to her mother in the scene when Keller is intoxicated and pleading with Cruger in her apartment to take him back, Keller notices his name circled (along with the deceased Raymond Brown and Jim Mackie) on a page of personals ads. The name is incorrectly written as "Frank Kellog."
*Samuel L. Jackson has a small role in the film. He's credited as "Black Guy."
*William Hickey also has a small role, playing Frank's father.

ee also

*Twist ending

External links

*imdb title|id=0098273