The Screen Addict Recommends – Sea of Love (1989)

It’s no secret that I adore Al Pacino.

If I had the patience and talent to start a TikTok or Youtube channel, my first video would be The Top 10 Pacino Speeches.

I’ve talked at length on this platform about obvious favorites like Scent of a Woman (1992), Heat (1995) and The Devil’s Advocate (1997), but the hidden gem I really, really like, is Sea of Love.

I say hidden gem because somehow, this sublime Thriller doesn’t get talked about a lot. Unfairly so if you ask me, because for one thing, SoL beat Basic Instinct (1992) to the punch with the female (?) serial-killer plot by three years.

Another thing is the rest of the cast. Ellen Barkin and John Goodman are probably in my Top 5 of favorite actors, and this film features them both. But the round up of awesome players doesn’t end there. Joining Pacino, Goodman and Barkin are Richard Jenkins, Michael Rooker, and early career, blink-and-you’ll-miss-him Samuel L. Jackson.

When Pacino was presented with an AFI award in 2007, Jackson shared this lovely anecdote about their brief collaboration on SoL –

The chemistry between Pacino and Barkin is almost palpable, and I was delighted to see them share the screen again in Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). Completely different genre, but still.

If for nothing else, you should see this film because of Pacino’s wonderful “Save the Cat!” moment in the opening sequence, and for the scene in which he stares down a couple of punks who are rude to Barkin’s character.

Classic Pacino.

Seek it out & get your fix.

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