Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Ortiz
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Frederick Smith
This film did not do well at the box office, probably because the drama is mostly in the dialog. There are a few tense moments, but most of the suspense and tension in the film come from Pacino's dynamic personality and Cusack's charm. Which is not to say the film is without merit. As a political thriller, it is probably more accurate in the way events are handled than most. You see the people in the mix, you see the steps that have to be taken, and you see the politics involved. Pacino's soliloquy at the funeral of the murdered child is nothing short of incredible, but soliloquy is what Al does best. Splendid performances by Aiello, Landau, Paymer, and Schiff fill out the plot with color and flair, and almost make up for the lackluster Fonda and the much too stereotypical Franciosa. Not at the top of my list, but definitely not at the bottom. Collectible if you are a lover of Pacino or Cusack, rated R for language and violence.
wes-connors
Idealistic Louisiana-born John Cusack (as Kevin Calhoun) moves to New York City, where he impresses up-and-coming politician Al Pacino (as John Pappas) enough to become the Mayor's right hand man. The story begins with a shoot-out in Brooklyn, involving a gangster drug dealer and "off-duty" policeman. Unfortunately, an innocent six-year-old boy is shot dead in their crossfire. Naturally, this arouses a heightened interest in justice from the press, police, and public. Mayor Pacino tries to manage the unfolding drama with an eye on keeping his and Gotham City's reputation intact; he is considering a run for the White House, and is bidding on the upcoming Democratic Convention.Deputy Mayor Cusack joins the investigation, on his mentor's behalf. Pretty Bridget Fonda (as Marybeth Cogan) is added to up the feminine quotient, obviously; following one of the story's funerals, she and Cusack have a great car scene. Singing Rogers and Hammerstein songs, Danny Aiello (as Frank Anselmo) leads a terrific supporting cast. "City Hall" is so predictable, reviewers and studio publicity (like the DVD sleeve description) routinely hint at the film's big revelation; it was suppose to unravel slowly, but is painfully obvious too early on - in fact, the film's events, except for the opening boy's death, feel like a well-worn old pair of shoes. But, they are comfortable and fit nice.******* City Hall (2/16/96) Harold Becker ~ John Cusack, Al Pacino, Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello
jzappa
Working from a script written in part by Nicholas Pileggi, best known for writing the book Wiseguy, which he adapted into the movie Goodfellas, and for writing the book and screenplay Casino, director Harold Becker shows how connected circles scratch each other's backs, even in the command of a comparatively honorable mayor like Pappas, who is regarded as a presidential prospect. As Cusack follows the paper trail of the dead mobster's probation report, his skepticism is agitated. How did this violent young man get probation rather than a jail sentence? We meet the other players in the plot, not the least of which is Danny Aiello, the political boss of Brooklyn, and Tony Franciosa, the Mafia boss whose nephew was shot dead. How and why these people are affiliated I leave to the movie to divulge, though there are never any misgivings that they are.The narrative is told generally through the eyes of the Cusack character, a visionary from Louisiana who admires his boss and hopes to learn from him. Much is made by everyone of bureaucratic knowledge passed down through the generations. Some of the dialogue is ungracefully erudite, but considering I just described the building blocks of the story as bureaucratic knowledge, one can't say it doesn't work. The shooting case builds against the seasoning of two other issues on the mayor's desk: a charge by Aiello for a subway stop and an off-ramp in Brooklyn to aid a new banking center, and the city's bid for the next Democratic convention. Individual idiosyncrasies are also explored, including Aiello's emotional bond with the music of Rogers and Hammerstein.Much also is made of menschkeit, a Yiddish expression, which, Pappas explains to his deputy, is about the bond of honor between two men, about what happens between the two hands in a handshake. This connection doesn't mean much to Bridget Fonda, the lawyer for the policeman's association who defends the dead cop's honor and fights for his widow's pension even as incriminating evidence appears. Little by little, the deputy mayor comes to grasp that menschkeit is such an influential notion that it outclasses he law.There are various scenes of hard impact, including one where the Brooklyn boss comes home for lunch in the middle of the day, his wife asserts her interest through the medium of the dish she has cooked, and then the Mafia boss drops in by surprise. There is also a compelling, and markedly conjectural, late scene between the mayor and his deputy.One scene handled with delicacy is comprised of the mayor's decision to speak at the funeral of the slain child, in a Harlem church. His advisers tell him he won't be wanted there. But he goes anyway, and cranks himself up for a spiel of unabashed hyperbole, Pacino and his character both.It gets an impressive reaction from the congregation, but the mayor knows, and his deputy knows, that it was artificial, and the way they scrupulously evade discussing it, in the limousine taking them away, is a subtle employment of composure and innuendo. This is a script that knows it has to supply Pacino with the reason why most of his fans go to see him, and immediately follows its quota with the reality that silence has much more inherent meaning than speech.Pacino and Cusack are convincing together throughout the movie, the older man unbreakable and aware, the younger one anxious to learn, but with ideals that don't sway. Pacino is innate with his down-to-earth capacity to marry common sense and inventive imagination, inspired flair and matter-of-fact realism. Cusack moves very freely in spite of his dark defensiveness.The Bridget Fonda subplot development is unnecessary, but it is a result of veteran screenwriter Paul Schrader's otherwise shrewdly perceptive belief in the worth of every character, and each is fleshed into earnest embodiments. Aiello, for instance, is a highlight because he evokes his character's joie de vivre and sensitivity to his environment.
thinker1691
Across the country and especially in the political landscape, people with any kind of political ambition, should take time out to see this film. The movie is called " City Hall " and with little imagination, its synopsis can take place anywhere in America. It just so happens to open in New York. Here we have the story of a popular politician named Mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino) with enough savvy to run a major metropolitan city with very little effort. His right-hand man is none other than Deputy Mayor Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack) an equally bright individual who's ambitions are tied to his mentor and both seemed destined for higher office. Everything points in that direction, until a police shooting ignites an investigation spearheaded by Marybeth Cogan (Bridget Fonda) who believes the guilt points towards city hall and the mayor. A six year old boy and a police officer's death are blamed on a career criminal who's questionable freedom leads to an apparent cover-up by political pay-offs and city corruption involving union leaders like Danny Aiello played by Frank Anselmo, corrupt judicial officials like Judge Walter Stern. (Martin Landau) and mafia bosses like Paul Zapatti (Anthony Franciosa) who are deeply involved. Also implicated, are party officials like Larry Schwartz (Richard Schiff) who works for the probation office of New York. But it is the bond between the mayor and his deputy which is taken to task by the accidental shooting. A great vehicle for Cusack and a sure bet nominee to become a classic. ****