“You ask me about my secret, my most personal secret, the secret of all my secrets,” intones the voice of Vincent Rizzo (Andy Garcia) as the opening credits roll on “City Island,” Tuesday Nights at the Movies’ April 8 offering. “Well like most of us, I guess I have a few.” And Vince isn’t the only one. In this warm-hearted comedy-drama, absolutely everyone is hiding something.
Vince, the patriarch of a rowdy and dysfunctional family, is a correctional officer (Don’t call him a prison guard) who discovers that his long-lost illegitimate son, Tony (Steven Strait), is locked up in the very prison where he works. Only Vince knows the young man’s parentage, and he isn’t about to spill the truth to anyone – not even Tony himself. But Vince wants to get to know his son, so he manages to get Tony paroled into his custody, bringing him home to stay with the family. What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to his family, Vince also dreams of becoming an actor. Pleading poker nights, he has been taking acting classes on the sly, where he meets and strikes up a friendship with Molly (Emily Mortimer), an aspiring actress with secrets of her own. Vince is so worried about what his family might think of his acting ambition, he’d rather his wife (Julianna Margulies) think he’s having an affair than tell her the truth. What he doesn’t appreciate is how her misreading of the situation might lead Joyce down a secretive path, as well.
The rest of the family is no less dishonest. The couple’s smart-mouthed, precocious teenaged son, Vinnie (Ezra Miller), is hiding a fetish. And their daughter, Vivian (played by Garcia’s real-life daughter, Dominik García-Lorido), hasn’t told her family she’s lost her college scholarship and now works as a stripper, hoping to bankroll her next semester.
While the obvious theme of “City Island” is secrets and how they can create turmoil, another is belonging, whether to a family or a community. This is brought home not only by the story of Vince’s illegitimate son, who has never felt he had a home or family, but also by the setting of the film itself.
City Island, for the uninitiated, is a real place. An idyllic island ringed by sailboats on the very eastern edge of the Bronx. It feels more like a sleepy fishing village than part of a sprawling metropolis. As Vince says, “Most people don’t believe it until they see it.” But it’s also a place where people are relegated into distinct categories: those who were born and bred there – preferably in a house passed down through the generations – known as ‘clam diggers,’ and newcomers called ‘mussel suckers.’ “In short,” says Vince, “the world can be divided between clam diggers and mussel suckers. Those who stay and those who wander.” Essentially, insiders and outsiders.
The film suggests another distinction, however: one between those who allow themselves to be understood and accepted and those who hide who they are and what they want. Everyone needs to feel as if they belong somewhere, and secrets, it implies, just create unnecessary barriers and divisions.
Written and directed by Raymond De Felitta (“Café Society”), “City Island” boasts an ensemble cast that successfully play off each other, whether conveying everyday dinner-table squabbles or the grander drama of the film’s climax, described by one character as “Greek in scope.” Ezra Miller, in only his second movie role, plays Vinnie with both brio and unexpected nuance; while veteran Alan Arkin is at his exasperated, hangdog best as Vince’s acting coach. It’s no wonder that “City Island” won the Tribeca Film Festival’s Audience Award.
This tender, funny movie proposes that while it might take an act of bravery to admit one’s “secret of all secrets,” the resulting connection to others and self-acceptance make it worth the risk.
Utilizing a new state-of-the-art laser projector, the Chestnut Hill Film Group will present “City Island” (2009, 104 minutes) on Tuesday, April 8. Tuesday Nights at the Movies screenings begin at 7 p.m. at Woodmere (9201 Germantown Avenue). Doors open at 6:30 p.m.. Light refreshments are served. Films are free to attend, but contributions are gratefully accepted. Please check Woodmere’s website (woodmereartmuseum.org) the day of the screening for weather-related cancellations.
Lily Williams is President of the Chestnut Hill Film Group and Woodmere’s Director of Development.
