CITY HALL
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
Directed by Harold Becker
Written by Ken Lipper, Paul Schrader, Nicholas Pileggi, and Bo
Goldman
Cast Al Pacino, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello, David
Paymer, Martin Landau
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for language and violence)
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC (8FEB96)
==
This straight-forward corruption tale is wholly unremarkable, save for a few good scenes and the occasional insight into the arena of municipal politics. Four writers-- including Nicholas Pileggi (CASINO) and Paul Schrader (TAXI DRIVER)-- are credited with this Big Apple fable of how a New York City Deputy Mayor (John Cusack) and his boss (Al Pacino) deal the with the ever-expanding problems caused by the acci- dental shooting of a young black boy in Brooklyn.
The casting of Pacino is dead-on, but John Cusack is a loss. He's a lightweight and doesn't belong at the center of such a serious story. The supporting cast-- which includes Danny Aiello and Martin Landau-- fares a little better, when the script isn't ignoring them. (Aiello, in particular, has a dandy confrontation with a mob boss played by Tony Franciosa.) Director Harold Becker (MALICE) keeps everybody busy and that adds to the illusion of dramatic tension, of which there is none. Most disappointing is the missing sense of grandeur. For such a big town, CITY HALL sure feels small.
Grade: C
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
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