SummaryA detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
Directed By:Harold Becker
Written By:Richard Price
Sea of Love
Metascore
Generally Favorable
66
User score
Generally Favorable
6.8
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
78% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
22% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
88
Sea of Love is a tough, sexy thriller, one of the most exciting suspense movies of the year, and undoubtedly the funniest. Al Pacino and John Goodman are terrific as detectives teamed up to catch a serial killer who apparently is choosing victims from personal ads in a New York weekly. [17 Sep 1989, p.11F]
80
Never revealing too much, Becker keeps us intrigued to the end, whilst Pacino and Barkin unexpectedly sizzle.
User score
Generally Favorable
64% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
32% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
4% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Sep 3, 2024
8
I am interested in seeing this movie only 'cause I heard the song itself only the Tom Waits version and I enjoyed it. With no one had ever heard of this film is that it's surprising forgotten and come to their surprise it stars Al Pacino. Frank Keller played by Al Pacino, is a burned-out alcoholic. His wife left him and married one of his colleagues, and he is depressed about reaching his 20th year on the police force. He is assigned to investigate the murder of a man in Manhattan, shot while face down in his bed, naked, listening to an old recording of "Sea of Love." One thing for sure is that a second man dies in the same way and the killer will do the same thing to the others. Detective Sherman played by John Goodman, suggests that he and Frank collaborate. Both victims had placed rhyming ads in the lonely hearts column of the newspaper, seeking dates. Frank has dinner with several women, while Sherman posing as a waiter puts their glasses into evidence bags. One woman, divorcee Helen Cruger played by Ellen Barkin, shows no interest in Frank and leaves without taking a drink, so Frank is unable to get her fingerprints. I remember seeing this multiple times in my life knowing that the film is awesome back in the day with the thrills and the mystery at how to find a killer who's been killing all the men. As much as the original version of "Sea of Love." plays throughout the film I would really much prefer the Tom Waits version better. Yeah, I know you haven't heard of that version is because nobody has even heard of the film before. Since I own the copy of it, I've seen the deleted scenes in it and I heard the director's commentary in it. Two things in it I found to be interesting. In recent years, what I found online is more deleted scenes which are only two more one of which starring Lorraine Bracco. Yeah, you'll be seeing her in Goodfellas next time. I really like Sea of Love a lot. I think it's a good film even though it's erotic in places but that's what I love about it along with the others. I like the thrills in this, Al Pacino's performance, just what you want from it no matter what.
Nov 9, 2018
8
Sea of love is one of the best thrillers of my pick. I could watch this movie a million time and never get tired of it.
75
Although the film is full of the sensory jolts common to this genre, it also has more humor than most, thanks to Richard Rice's tough, witty script. [15 Sep 1989, p.37]
70
Moment by moment, Sea of Love holds you in a tight grip. It's a stylish diversion, though it never gets much below its self-consciously "hot" surface. [18 Sep 1989, p.81]
70
All the actors fire off one another nicely. Goodman and Pacino may be the only cop duo in memory to generate anything like real enthusiasm.
60
While there isn't much mystery to this mystery - only a handful of suspects are interviewed - there is a compelling sense of helplessness underscoring the lives of all its characters. In that sense, Sea of Love is a gender bender Looking for Mr. Goodbar, a disturbing allegory for the '80s when the fear of AIDS and sexual violence only deters a percentage of the singles population from making its appointed meat-market rounds. [15 Sep 1989, p.6]
40
Sea of Love is a lugubrious imitation of a second-rate television movie, over-produced and over-cast. Mr. Pacino tears into a role made out of rice paper, for messy results, while Miss Barkin does her level best to seem simultaneously sexy, homicidal and innocent, which is not easy.
Jan 11, 2024
6
So the song is absolute fire, Pacino is in his lunatic bag in this one. Just wildly all over the place start to finish.
Apr 29, 2022
6
6.5/10
Sea Of Love is a movie with the type of story that can be ended up so wrong or so right, after watching the film i feel like the movie ended not so wrong but still not quite right too.
Mar 23, 2020
1
Sea of Love is a 1989 drama thriller starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. It's about some detective played by Al Pacino tracking down a serial killer who strikes, kills then leaves a sea of love song playing... Absolutely stupid film with crap sex scenes, nudity, annoying characters, badly made action scenes and violence and the annoying John Goodman. I guess Richard Jenkins was okay but besides that this film is pure ugly and horrible and very stupid and generally uninteresting and Ellen Barkin naked even feels crap so this film is a failure on every level from the story, directing, acting, rubbish violent scenes, boring sex scenes right down to the uninteresting or stupid characters including Michael Rooker and John Goodman. SEA OF LOVE to me is certainly one of Al Pacino's worst films and in my list of horrible and crap movies.
