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Frank Keller is probably not the most recognisable character in Al Pacino's remarkable career - decades of eminence bursting with filmic icons. He fails to stand out as a highlight because the detective is portrayed as just a normal individual, depressed and work-driven, Pacino's Keller is a Manhattan with love and work troubles like so many others. It is a credit to the legendary practitioner of the Method that he doesn't venture down the Jack Nicholson route and play himself here, regardless of how entertaining Alfredo "The Shouter" Pacino is and can be. Therefore it can be argued that the film possesses elements of a Hitchcockian thriller as even the presence of Pacino and the two other very impressive leads seemingly play second fiddle to the decent suspenseful plot. Consequently however, director Harold Becker is no Hitchcock and along with writer Richard Price they simply treat us to a popcorn movie in which our protagonist and his sidekick, Detective Sherman (John Goodman), play out the sort of film we have seen before on numerous occasions in between the multiplex blockbuster releases - the erotic crime thriller.
Sea of Love is certainly no bore though as it almost engrosses the viewer as much as Fatal Attraction (1987) in the similar genre stakes. Ellen Barkin is outstanding as Helen, the apparent murderess, and the chemistry between her and Pacino is believable to a certain extent as it is conceivable that they would fall for each other. Conversely, neither conveys prominent signs of Borderline Personality Disorder to equal the magnetism of Douglas and Close in their resilient and complex performances from Adrian Lyne's "bunny boiler" classic. The human element of exaggerated realism by way of stalkerish or obsessive behaviour is absent to fully pull off a memorable outing but the charm of the film comes from the rawness of the relationship and explosive eroticism between Frank and Helen. The film is also saved by the outstanding John Goodman throughout with his scenes as an undercover waiter being particularly well-acted and yet bizarre. Pacino's turn is reminiscent of his celebrated 1970's performances and Barkin fuses a sufficient balance of sexiness, mystery and eloquent delivery to create the appropriate femme fatale aura necessary for this genre. The successful whodunit element of the beginning however is diluted somewhere after the lonely hearts advertisements to bait Barkin into proceedings and Becker's film fails to match the quality of Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct (1992) as the suspense of the investigation and disappointment of the conclusion fail to fully satisfy initial expectation.
The extras
The disc is the Region 2 equivalent of the Region 1 Collector's Edition and is a decent watch even though the picture and sound quality are not outstanding. The audio commentary is nice from a very passionate and largely unknown Harold Becker, and his expertise also pops up on the standard 14 minute "Making Of" as he explains how Pacino legitimately got bumped into by a New Yorker in the final scene of the film on the streets of the Big Apple. Deleted scenes are also a good addition for a relatively budget release and a single trailer rounds of the respectable package which you can pick up fairly cheaply.
The summary
Frank Keller is no Montana or Corleone but nonetheless Harold Becker delivers a good Pacino vehicle to rescue the acting legend from a 1980s slump.
