Great New York Drama...

I had heard of this movie when it came out in 1996, but I have never gotten around to seeing it in theatres or renting it. A few months ago, I was at Best Buy, and they had the DVD on the $5.99 rack. Intrigued, I bought it. I put it in my collection and forgot about it (it's one of those old school, flap-snap-open DVD cases that I don't like). Today, there is about a foot and a half of snow on Long Island, and nothing to do, so we popped it in the DVD player.

Apparently, I'm the only person on Epinions who liked this movie. This surprised me.

Okay, maybe the writing wasn't as powerful as it could have been. The writers relied heavily on quotes by others. Lyndon Johnson, JFK, and Harry Truman are all quotes. The metaphors run wild in this movie. It's almost like the characters are trying to throw in every metaphor they can, hoping one will stick.

That's not to say this movie wasn't good. What others refer to as a weak plot, I say was intriguing and interesting. Let's move on to that...

Plot
This is the story of the Mayor of New York City (Al Pacino, in a sometimes-frantic, nearly-flawless if not eccentric performance) and his deputy mayor, his right-hand man, John Cusack (in what should have been a career-making performance, but then he decided to do Grosse Point Blank).

On a Brooklyn street corner, Detective Eddie Santos and small-time drug dealer with a shady criminal past (and nephew of a mob boss) Tino Zappati have a shootout. A 6 year old boy whose father is walking him to school is shot in the back in the crossfire and killed. Both men are also killed.

What unfolds threatens to destroy the good name of the City, which stands as a protagonist in all of this. Why was Tino only on probation for a felony that should have sent him away for 15-20 years? Why was Det. Santos alone and without a partner? Why is Brooklyn "boss" Frank Anselmo (Danny Aiello in a small but powerful role) in cohoots with mob boss Paul Zappati? Why does the deputy mayor keep pursuing this?

Bodies keep piling up, and the chain of command keeps going higher, from drug dealer Tino, to Anselmo, to Zappati, to NY Supreme Court Judge Walter Stern (Martin Landau).

The last half hour, leading to a father-son type showdown, is fantastic. Pacino gives a great performance. His speech at the little boy's funeral (against all warnings) was great, and should have been a classic. Cusack should have soared to great heights after this movie, but I guess not enough people saw it (IMDb.com only has 4,085 votes on it as opposed to a movie like Lord of the Rings, which has 147,549 votes in 5 years less). Cusack played the innocent Southern boy who yearned for a life of politics. I never knew that existed before this movie. Apparently it's big in Louisiana. Bridget Fonda is listed as being a star of this movie, but she is really in only a few scenes. She plays the lawyer for Santos' widow. It's a very bland performance. I'm not a big Fonda fan. Aiello, Landau, Richard Schiff, David Paymer, and some character actors all give solid performances in City Hall to round out the ensemble.

Yes, the writing can be more solid at points, but the story is gripping. It was reminiscent of Mystic River at times. I'm not comparing it to Mystic River by any means (I gave MR 7/7, I give City Hall 6/7), but the feel of the movie was the same. Not a ton of action, but the story kept you watching, and when there was action, it was worth the wait.

All in all, I say give this movie a chance. It's a political drama, and I think the first of that genre that I've ever watched. It's in the range of a Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil also, I'd say. It's a very unknown and very underrated movie.