Review of City Hall (1996) by Peter P — 29 Mar 2014

Directed by Harold Becker (The Onion Field (1979), Sea of Love (1989) and Mercury Rising (1998)), and written by Kenneth Lipper (The Winter Guest (1997), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver (1976)), Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas (1990)) and Bo Goldman (Scent of a Woman (1992)).

This thriller is about political corruption inspired by the real life case of Donald Manes. It's a good thriller to watch with a good cast. New York Mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino) is well liked in the city, but he has grander ambitions, like running for President, and his deputy mayor Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack) hails from Louisiana.

Calhoun had always put his career and Pappas first, but his loyalty goes awry after undercover cop Eddie Santos (Nestor Serrano) and mobster Tino Zapatti (Larry Romano) have a gun fight, and 6 year old James Bone (Jaliyl Lynn) is killed in the crossfire.

Calhoun discovers a link between the murder and Brooklyn politician Frank Anselmo (Danny Aiello), who has been secretly paying Zapatti's uncle Paul (Tony Franciosa) to smear Santos' name. It's a good thriller, and it's not a million miles away from what was to come in Broken City (2013), only there was a lot more corruption there.

Pacino is on autopilot for most of the film, but still good, but it's Cusack who shows gravitas here. He's an honest politician trying to do what is right.