Sea of Love

Efficient enough as a thriller, but what makes this mandatory viewing is the return of Pacino. There are isolated scenes as good as anything he's done, and if the role is less demanding than Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon or Michael in The Godfather, his presence lifts the production in the way De Niro lifted Midnight Run. Lonely, middle-aged, divorced, Frank Keller (Pacino) breaks a major cop rule by falling for a suspect while investigating a series of Lonely Hearts murders. Someone has been answering ads in a singles' magazine and bumping off the guys; and Helen (Barkin), sexually predatory in spades, could be the one. Following a night of passion - the standard frisk for weapons takes on tropical dimensions here - Frank scratches her from the list. The conclusion is pretty guessable, and you wonder whether the trust theme wouldn't play outside the genre. Goodman brings warmth and wit to Keller's sidekick, and Barkin is just fine.