SummaryThe accidental shooting of a boy in New York leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.
Directed By:Harold Becker
Written By:Ken Lipper, Paul Schrader, Nicholas Pileggi, Bo Goldman
City Hall
Metascore
Generally Favorable
62
User score
Generally Favorable
6.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
62
63% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
30% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
7% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
100
Riveting.
80
Charismatic performances push this into a higher bracket of political thriller.
75
Pacino, Cusack and Aiello are fascinating to observe, playing three sides of the same political coin, but the whole thing winds up as meaningless as a concession speech by Phil Gramm. [16 Feb 1996, p.5]
67
In the course of City Hall, Calhoun doesn’t just get to the bottom of a scandal. He grows up, and watching Cusack enact the transformation, I thought I glimpsed this gifted young actor growing into a star.
60
Director Harold Becker ("The Onion Field," "Sea of Love") makes "City Hall" absorbing in its evocation of New York fauna and rhythms. The problem is in the screenplay. [19 Feb 1996, p.68]
50
But this knotty investigative thriller has trouble achieving the rock-solid credibility to hold an audience in thrall.
30
The ultimate verdict on "City Hall" is easy: It's no good. The movie, a corruption-in-the-city saga starring Al Pacino, John Cusack and Bridget Fonda, ends on such a false, unsatisfying note, any faith you had built up in the movie is dashed. But that there's faith to lose in the first place is something of an achievement.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.3
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Dec 17, 2025
8
I give it an 8/10 overall, with a neo-noir feel and great acting performances from Al Pacino and other supporting cast. City Hall is a great neo-noir film about political corruption and favors, and how it can corrupt even the best intentions. Out of all the movies I have seen recently, this is the only one I have felt the urge to write about on here. The story is pretty good, even though it can get a little mixed up every now and then, but it is to be expected with a sort of investigative/mystery plot; a somewhat muddied plot is sort of the goal. In addition, the acting is a bright spot in this movie with longer tracking scenes of dialogue between characters, particulalry involving Al Pacino's character. He delivers a great performance in Al Pacino's typical fashion during the 90s when he leaned more into his loud and aggressive style, but it works in this film and gives his character a seemingly passionate overtone. The funeral monologue that he delivers is iconic piece of film history and should be remembered as such. Also, another point I would like to highlight is the scenery and film locations. They were able to film many scenes on location in New York and substituted some of the court room scenes with location shoots in New Jersey. I know that there are a few other movies with similar ideas of political corruption, but this is a pretty good one.
