CITY HALL

CITY HALL (1996). Director: Harold Becker.

When a cop and a lowlife kill each other in a shoot-out, a little boy is caught in the crossfire. Deputy Mayor Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack of Shadows and Fog) tries to find out why the lowlife, Tino Zapatti (Larry Romano), was out on the street when he should have been in jail. His uncle Paul (Anthony Franciosa of Wild is the Wind) is a big shot mobster, and friends with Brooklyn politico Frank Anselmo (Danny Aiello), whom he orders to frame the dead cop. Calhoun's investigation uncovers corruption that goes all the way up to a judge (Martin Landau of Mission: Impossible), who just happens to be a good friend of Mayor Pappas (Al Pacino), whom Calhoun idolizes. Now Calhoun has to figure out if the mayor is involved and how he will handle it if he is. City Hall has a workable premise, and the acting is fine, but Harold Becker's direction isn't exactly dynamic, and the movie just fails to grip the way it should. Bridget Fonda plays a lawyer who tries to help the cop's family and is fine, but the movie is practically stolen by Aiello as Anselmo.

Verdict: Tepid when it should sizzle. **1/2.

THE ONION FIELD

THE ONION FIELD (1979). Director: Harold Becker

In 1963 hoods Gregory Powell (James Woods) and Jimmy Smith (Franklin Seales) are stopped by cops James Campbell (Ted Danson) and Karl Hettinger (John Savage) but the hoods turn the tables and drive the policemen to an onion field. There Powell kills Campbell, but Hettinger manages to escape. [Hettinger turned over his gun after Powell threatened to shoot Campbell, but one cop theorizes that "only a coward lets a punk get his gun away from him."] The rest of the film details the trial, the emotional aftermath for Hettinger, and so on, but there are too many under-developed characters and except for the moving final scene the film keeps the viewer at a emotional distance. This is not only due to Joseph Wambaugh's unsatisfactory script (based on his book), but Harold Becker's perfunctory direction, and actors who are good but never seem to quite get a handle on their characters. The one exception is Franklin Seales, who is very vivid as the confused, frightened Jimmy. The picture holds the attention at first but meanders and goes into too many different directions without resolution.

Verdict: Disappointing, but some good acting. **1/2.