My pal Al has been my favorite actor ever since I saw his amazing performance in Heat and it bothers me when people say that all he does is yell in his movies rather than give a credible performance. It bothers me because they usually pick the wrong movies to single out . In the case of City Hall he gives a very nuanced and touching performance throughout that is ruined by a speech that is pure Pacino. The script which was written by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) and Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas) and two other gentlemen concerns corruption in the Big Apple. Pacino is mayor John Pappas, John Cusack his deputy mayor, Danny Aiello a union boss who despite being a man of the people is tied in with a mobster, and Bridget Fonda as a crusading investigator who is trying to prove every one's corruption and clear a few names while she is at it. The story is this a rogue cop is meeting with a drug dealer without the benefit of backup or a bulletproof vest. His informant is the drug dealer's cousin and when all three of them surprise each other shots are fired and the cop and drug dealer die while a six year old boy is also killed in the crossfire. This is a tragedy that the mayor has to address and that the deputy mayor has to spend the entire movie trying to piece together. Whose bullet the cop's or the drug dealer's killed the kid? Why was the cop there against orders and without any backup or protection? Why is the drug dealer walking the streets when his crimes would ordinarily send him to prison for years? The answers that slowly come are nothing shocking or revelatory. Corruption exists in government and even well respected mayors or judges might have a hand in it. The scene that I speak of takes place at the young boy's funeral. The mayor (Pacino) has been advised not to go there and if he must go to say only a few words and then leave. This being a Pacino movie why say a few meaningless words when Al can yell which is exactly what he does. The boy was black and the church is an all black one which only adds to the scene since this passionate kind of speech is not out of place. It could be something from Scarface or any other Pacino film as it starts out somber and moves to optimistic before finally erupting into full blown Pacino rage. Al can do this better than anyone but it seriously detracts from his overall performance because it is too easy to say he's yelling rather than acting which he does beautifully in the film's final scene between him and Cusack. By this time Cusack knows the truth and wants answers from the mayor and Pacino plays the scene like he is Cusack's father and he is devastated to learn that his son no longer needs him or trusts him. The film is not bad despite a confusing and not too original story but it is worth it to see the performances of Pacino, Cusack, and Danny Aiello.
April 28, 2008A solid film and a step up from another John Cusack political drama, the decent but yuppie-themed "True Colors." Cusack's character is the deputy mayor of NYC, aka the ambitious mayor's,(Al Pacino) right hand man. A shooting in Brooklyn leaves three people dead which culminates into a Willie Horton type legal & media crisis for the mayor's office. Cusack teams up with Bridget Fonda, a lawyer for the detectives endowment fund to perform due diligence only to find their digging ends up too close to home. Danny Aiello does a good job as a complicated yet sympathetic Brooklyn councilman; Martin Landau as a bent new york supreme court judge and former law partner of the mayor; Richard Schiff as a probation supervisor; and David Paymer as a top city hall advisor. Snappy intelligent dialogue, Pacino is rarely better.
"The only thing new in this world is the history you don't know." ~ Harry Truman
November 13, 2007A decent and somewhat entertaining movie about political corruption in New York, this movie arguably would have been a total flop were it not for Pacino and Cusack. I feel that the amount of killing is a little excessive and lends to the general pradicability of the plot. It was worth watching once, but I doubt I'll ever feel compelled to do so again.
December 27, 2006 |  | A Warm-up For L.A. Confidential |  |
I think I agree with most critics who say that Jerry Goldsmith's score for "City Hall" is like a warm-up for "L.A. Confidential", and the tracks 'The Bridge' and 'The Meet' are proof of that. Although I have to admit that those two cues are the best of the CD, as well as 'Old Friends' and 'Count On It. The music certainly has that New York feel to it since the movie takes place there. Unfortunately, as for the rest of the album, it all sounds like there is no way to go; and it remains too quiet for my taste, possibly because the film itself is kinda dull in spite of Al Pacino's usual overperformance that keeps anybody awake. But then again, there is "L.A. Confidential"...
December 3, 2006This movie is the quintessential example of how politics and public opinion rules the day. Each of the actors in this criminal injustice movie are compelling. Cusack's plight is what endears him to the viewer--restive in nature, the Louisiana boy attempts to save Pacino's administration and future but, is unable to resurrect him in the end. While Pacino is resolute in his hopes, dreams and desires, his role as the Greek mayor of New York City is plagued with a plethora of problems that he can no longer control. His prior associations for good or bad is what is his final Waterloo. This film is resplendent in its depiction of police and political depravity. This is a must see film for political science and criminal justice students.
Most respectfully,
Dr. Charles Thomas Kelly, Jr.
Assistant Professor of the
Administration of Justice
Louisiana State University-Alexandria
September 10, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
(27 reviews)