City Hall (1996)

Outline: After a shoot out between a cop and a drug dealer with ties to the mob claims the life of a six year-old, the Deputy Mayor (John Cusack) of New York begins his own investigation to protect the Mayor (Al Pacino).

When I say "protect the Mayor", I don't mean that the Deputy Mayor believes the Mayor to be corrupt. He just wants to keep ahead of the game.

Frankly, I know this might sound odd as it is the lead, but I believe that Cusack has the easiest role in the film. See, his character admires Pacino's character, and, I mean, how hard is it to admire Al Pacino? Cusack's Louisiana accent comes and goes, and his lack of shock over the corruption he uncovers is a little disheartening. On the other hand, Cusack's more of a quiet actor, and I find he lends a certain gentleness to his characters because of it. Sometimes, in roles like this one, gentleness is a necessary element often ignored.

Pacino, as always, is a powerhouse, and his Mayor is brilliantly emotional and charismatic. It pissed me off when he started grandstanding at the little boy's funeral, but his outburst makes more sense later in the movie. I'm not entirely sure why Bridget Fonda, who is quite good, was billed over Danny Aiello, who had a larger role and made more of an impact, but so it goes. You also have Martin Landau to distract you. I really like Landau.

Harold Becker, the director, hasn't made anything particularly good or bad. He's a pretty even keel kind of a guy, so I am neither disappointed nor impressed with him. Ken Lipper, Paul Schrader, Nicholas Pileggi, and Bo Goldman co-authored the script, and I must admit that the idea of four writers makes me a bit nervous. I've seen it well done before (e.g. High Fidelity), but I am still wary. It's the only script Lipper as ever written, and the others have some pretty impressive stuff (e.g. Schrader - Taxi Driver, Pileggi - Casino, Goldman - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) behind them. In this case, I'm not going to question it.

Given the cast and writers, this film had the potential to be amazing. I would certainly categorize it as entertaining, yet . . . flat. That would be the best way to describe it: entertaining, yet flat.