Spoilers follow.
City Hall would be an average film if it were not lifted by the sheer quality of its star-powered performances. A story about disillusionment and political idealism, its tone betrays a cynical heart.
The story is set around the accidental shooting of a young African American child who is caught in the crossfire between a cop and a member of the Mafia. John Cusack plays the idealistic aide to the mayor who begins to look into the affair and discovers that there is more to it than meets the eye.
Cusack's performance is typical of his strengths as an actor - he draws us in and manages to convey the transition between naive idealism and more worldly understanding. However he is undersold by a script that moves too quickly - giving us too little time to understand and appreciate the causes behind it. We do not see the mental process leading to that enormous change, not because Cusack is not conveying it but because the script does not give opportunity to show it.
Whilst I quibble about pacing however, the plot here is exciting and the dialogue is generally excellent. The scenes with the judge and Pacino are particular highlights that spark beautifully - I guess that's what happens when you combine fine actors with rich dialogue.
Pacino plays John Pappas well, selling him both as a politician and a more complex, grey human being. His presence on this film is enormous and he looms over any scene he is in. Yet it is so large that we know we will only ever be led back to his door. The plot makes no attempt to mask this and no other figure of a similar stature is ever established. The inevitability of the reveal is one of the weakest aspects of this film although the quality of the confrontation at least ensures that it satisfies on some levels.
Bridget Fonda appears as Marybeth Cogan, who investigates this case along with Cusack's character. Her performance is good and the scene between her and Cusack in the diner struck me as one of this highlights of this film. The emotions feel right and the ending stung just about enough to satisfy. What a shame that the film ruins her exit by reuniting them at the end and resolving their differences. It was too obvious and too smooth.
It is this smoothness and this predictability that lets the film down in the end. It never surprises because it feels familiar. I wanted to see more of the shades of grey that Pacino talks about. I wished that there had been a few more twists in the tale, that it had surprised me more.
That said, do not write City Hall off because of these failings. What it does well, it does very well. It does not have the satirical content of Wag the Dog (released a year later) or Primary Colors (two years after), nor is it a perfect political thriller (for that see the excellent BBC drama State of Play, soon to be remade into a movie) but it is cast well, suitably dramatic and features some excellent performances.