Themes: Fighting the System, Political Corruption, Conspiracies
Main Cast: Al Pacino, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello, Martin Landau
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Three A-list screenwriters -- (Nicholas Pileggi, Bo Goldman, and Paul Schrader) -- contributed to the script of this idealistic political drama. John Pappas (Al Pacino) is the popular, ethical Mayor of New York; Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack) is his even more idealistic and principled deputy. When a detective and mobster kill each other and an innocent six-year-old black child in a shootout, questions arise about what the cop was doing meeting with the gangster in the first place. The Mayor and his staff handle the situation ably, but Calhoun digs deeper and finds troubling evidence that even his seemingly incorruptible boss has not escaped the shadier aspects of political life. The Mafia boss (Tony Franciosa) whose nephew was the dead gangster, along with a Brooklyn political boss (Danny Aiello) with his own agenda, come into the story, becoming part of a series of larger links, secret relationships, and bonds of "honor" between men who, on the surface, would have no reason to be in business with each other. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
Review
Director Harold Becker reunites with his Sea of Love star Al Pacino for this underrated gem of a political drama written by a trio of heavy-hitting screenwriters. Pacino is at his best in the role of a powerful man trying to do the right thing while compromising his values and integrity. A subplot involving Bridget Fonda seems to exist solely for the purpose of providing a love interest for the character played by John Cusack and detracts mightily from the film. Cusack struggles somewhat with his role of a naïve do-gooder who goes from starry-eyed idealism and hero-worship to sabotaging the object of his admiration perhaps too quickly, but his slightly underdeveloped character is a quibble in what is mostly an intelligent, probing film with much on its artistic mind. City Hall sank at the box office and was given a lukewarm critical reception; given the later success of television shows such as Spin City and The West Wing, perhaps the film was somewhat ahead of its time. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Anthony Franciosa - Paul Zapatti; David Paymer - Abe Goodman; Stanley Anderson - Train Conductor; Ray Aranha - James Bone; Steve Aronson - Murray Safire; Jordan Baker - Mrs. Marquand; Tony Lo Bianco - Paul Zapatti; Fran Brill - Angie; Harry Bugin - Morty the Waiter; Angel David - Vinnie Zapatti; Lindsay Duncan - Sydney Pappas; John Finn - Commissioner Coonan; Richard Gant - Deputy Commissioner Samuels; Sylvia Kauders - Gussie; Joseph Kelly - Hospital Priest; Edward I. Koch - Newscaster; Rob La Belle - Wakeley; Mark Lonow - Lenny Lasker; Lucia Mendoza - Elaine Santos' Sister; Roberta Peters - Nettie Anselmo; Larry Romano - Tino Zapatti; Richard Schiff - Larry Schwartz; Nestor Serrano - Det. Eddie Santos; Miguel Sierra - Israel Torres; Tamara Tunie - Leslie Christos; Mel Winkler - Detective Holly; John Slattery - Intel Detective, George; Murphy Guyer - Captain Florian; Lauren Vélez - Elaine Santos; Brian Murray - Corporation Council; Mary Murphy - Field Reporter
Credit
Robert Guerra - Art Director, Thomas J. Mack - Associate Producer, John Lyons - Casting, Richard Hornung - Costume Designer, Glen Trotiner - First Assistant Director, Dean Garvin - First Assistant Director, Thomas J. Mack - First Assistant Director, David Kelly - First Assistant Director, Harold Becker - Director, David Bretherton - Editor, Robert Jones - Editor, Jerry Goldsmith - Composer (Music Score), Bernadette Mazur - Makeup, Jane Musky - Production Designer, Michael Seresin - Cinematographer, Harold Becker - Producer, Charles B. Mulvehill - Producer, Edward R. Pressman - Producer, Ken Lipper - Producer, Robert Franco - Set Designer, Steve Kirshoff - Special Effects, Tod A. Maitland - Sound/Sound Designer, Bo Goldman - Screenwriter, Nicholas Pileggi - Screenwriter, Paul Schrader - Screenwriter, Ken Lipper - Screenwriter
John Pappas is the mayor of New York and has far more grand ambitions, including the governor's office and the White House. His loyal deputy mayor is Kevin Calhoun, a young man from Louisiana who grew up loving politics.
One day, an off-duty police detective named Eddie Santos is ambushed by a young criminal named Tino Zapatti. They kill each other in a shootout, with a stray bullet also causing the death of an innocent small boy named James Bone.
An investigation leads to a question as to why Judge Walter Stern, an old friend of the mayor's, had set Zapatti free on probation for a recent crime rather than send him to jail. Legal aid Marybeth Cogan, meanwhile, attempts to see that Santos' widow receives his full benefits, but there seems to be a conspiracy to paint the slain detective as less than honest.
Calhoun digs for the truth. He encounters Frank Anselmo, a Brooklyn politician who has connections to organized crime boss Paul Zapatti, the uncle of the cop-killer. Anselmo plants money to smear the detective's good name.
The deputy mayor and Cogan continue to seek the truth from a number of sources, including Santos' partner and another Zapatti relative. After the murder of probation officer Larry Schwartz, they ultimately come to the conclusion that Judge Stern had to be on the take.
Pappas agrees that Stern must resign. The scandal snowballs to the point that Anselmo is instructed by Paul Zapatti to "take the pressure off" himself, by which he means commit suicide rather than become an informer or go to jail. To protect his family, Anselmo shoots himself.
The scandal is nearly at an end, but Calhoun knows one more thing -- his idol, the mayor, is also involved. He is the one who put Stern together with Anselmo to receive a bribe and leave the young Zapatti on the street. Calhoun soon tells Pappas there is only one choice -- to quit as mayor and leave politics for good.
"Ripped From the Headlines"
Elements of the story are loosely based on the tumultuous politics of New York City in the mid-1980s. Emerging from a crippling bankruptcy, the city enjoyed modest success under the leadership of popular mayor Ed Koch. Democratic Queens boro president Donald Manes was a popular politician who turned his role into more of a proactive office, rather than ceremonial. A series of corruption investigations revealed he was using his office to orchestrate various kickback schemes. Many of his associates were forced to resign or faced prosecution. The result of these 1986 investigations led Manes to have a nervous breakdown, and eventually commit suicide. Mayor Ed Koch's popularity was shaken by the Queens boro president's suicide and the indictment of his associates. Further investigations revealed no connection between Koch and Manes' kickback schemes. While the plot of City Hall uses a child's wrongful death and cover-up, the dramatic investigation of an equally powerul mayor (Pappas) and boro president (Anselmo) draw many similarities.
