True-crime drama, about a New York cop with a father and son on the opposite side of the law, wears its heart on its sleeve and squeezes it like a sponge. Scottish-born director Michael Caton-Jones (best films: Rob Roy, Memphis Belle, old-fashioned stuff) doesn't let things get too messy. Excellent shots of the derelict, almost post-apocalyptic urbanscape of Long Beach, L.I., once a booming resort (as shown at the outset in a vintage travelogue, to the tune of "Red Sails in the Sunset"). Nice, credible, adult relationship between Robert De Niro and Frances McDormand (who states her age accurately at forty-three) as vertical neighbors who share keys to their respective apartments. A bit of an unwanted laugh, though, when the closed-up cop responds to his lady friend's plea for candor with the news of (a) the long-ago conviction and execution of his father for murder, (b) the incident of domestic violence in his own previous marriage, (c) the existence of a drug-addict son, and (d) the current arrest warrant for the son on a charge of murder. Good thing he did not yet know of (e) the existence of a grandson, who turns up on his doorstep the next day. James Franco, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, George Dzundza. (2002) — Duncan Shepherd