City Hall (1996)
Southern boy John Cusack is Mayor Al Pacino’s right hand man, but he finds himself in over his head during the latest scandal. An undercover cop killed a bad guy, but in the ensuing gunfire, an innocent child was murdered. The media wants to blame, and the city officials want to take care of their own—and John wants to dig deeper than anyone wants him to dig, for no reason. Bridget Fonda joins his “investigation” but doesn’t really serve any function besides looking pretty and giving the audience hope that the story might feature a romance. Danny Aiello, David Paymer, Martin Landau, Richard Schiff, and a cameo by Anthony Franciosa in his last film, all have things to hide and lies to tell. Will John and Bridget figure everything out in time for the end of the movie?
As a former political science student, I found the “who’s lying and who’s dying” part of the story far less interesting than Al Pacino’s part of the story. He’s a typical, and therefore perfect, politician who is there for every photo opportunity and makes everyone he talks to think he sincerely cares about them. During his emotional speech at the child’s funeral, he wins over every attendant, and the audience thinks in the next scene he’ll say something heartless and show his true colors. Then, in the next scene, he’s still sensitive about the grieving family—is he genuinely a caring person, or is he still hiding something? After all, it is Al Pacino, and would he really be cast as a completely straight good guy?
City Hall is a bit dated, but only because it feels tame compared to the violence and grit present in today’s films. If this movie were remade, it would have infinitely more violence and blood, and probably a sex scene or two. If you prefer your political corruption movies cleaner than they’re made today, rent this one on Saturday afternoon.
More Al Pacino movies here!
As a former political science student, I found the “who’s lying and who’s dying” part of the story far less interesting than Al Pacino’s part of the story. He’s a typical, and therefore perfect, politician who is there for every photo opportunity and makes everyone he talks to think he sincerely cares about them. During his emotional speech at the child’s funeral, he wins over every attendant, and the audience thinks in the next scene he’ll say something heartless and show his true colors. Then, in the next scene, he’s still sensitive about the grieving family—is he genuinely a caring person, or is he still hiding something? After all, it is Al Pacino, and would he really be cast as a completely straight good guy?
City Hall is a bit dated, but only because it feels tame compared to the violence and grit present in today’s films. If this movie were remade, it would have infinitely more violence and blood, and probably a sex scene or two. If you prefer your political corruption movies cleaner than they’re made today, rent this one on Saturday afternoon.
More Al Pacino movies here!