NYPD veteran detective Frank Keller (Pacino) and jovial comrade Sherman (Goodman) are out to catch a serial killer who preys on men via the personals. After placing his own ad as bait, Frank has a rendezvous with Helen (Barkin), a single mom with a fondness for rough sex. Frank's immediately hooked, and begins a steamy love affair with the voracious vixen, even though each new clue points to her probable guilt.

A smart, Hitchcockian thriller with lots of kinky twists, Becker's "Sea of Love" finds Pacino in top form playing a hard-drinking, disillusioned cop with a weakness for Barkin, excellent as the tough-minded, ultra-sexy femme fatale. Richard Price's sharp script packs in authentically racy dialogue, moments of hair-raising suspense, and intriguing, full-fleshed characterizations. All told, this chilling study of emotional desperation and sexual anguish is first-rate. Come to the "Sea of Love," and be prepared never to hear that title song the same way again.