Being a huge fan of Al Pacino (from the likes of 'Heat', the 'Godfather' movies, and 'Dog Day Afternoon' especially) and having had a huge crush on Bridget Fonda ('Single White Female', anyone?) back in the day (Peter Fonda's famous daughter was named 85th sexiest star in film history, and Mrs. Danny Elfman hasn't been involved in film, unfortunately, since 2002), I was hugely disappointed in this film, especially since I had loved director Harold Becker's previous 'Sea of Love', which also starred Pacino. The first half was decent and involving, but it kind of slid off the rails, interest-wise for me, the rest of the way and got too talky and uninspired.

I don't really know if the problem was with the script or its direction. I know I'm not the greatest John Cusack fan in the world (I find he's much better in comedy, like his sister Joan), but he had pretty good co-stars, whose talents were basically wasted, in Martin Landau, Anthony Franciosa and Danny Aiello (these guys were BORN for these roles and films, so on paper, this should have really worked out well). I had always wondered why this film had bombed so miserably, and now I know why. In cases like this, more should have been done to alter the story arc, just some basic tweaks, to make it more suspenseful and/or (though I usually balk at such 'Hollywood' tendencies) some romantic tension (a beauty such as Fonda's was misused--they may as well have hired someone else). All in all, a wasted opportunity that's worth a look if you like dramas about corruption--just don't go in with big expectations, and don't bother with a re-watch.

I liked the quiet noir of the first part, the acting of Pacino and Cusak, especially their scenes together. The moodiness of the setting and the juxtaposition of the old pol and the idealistic youth was effecting. I wish Bridget Fonda had more scenes in the movie; she was an earnest and appealing character. The film went off the rails for me when the assistant mayor starting snooping around the mafioso to get to the bottom of something his boss clearly didn't want him meddling in. Nobody in their right mind would meet a mafioso on an abandoned dock in a junkyard. Here the story became implausible. Something that I don't understand: why did the cop and Vito have a shootout if the latter was delivering info that could bring down the corrupt judge?

One thing that shocked me about this film, considering the cast, was the small amount of profanity. I mean, with Al Pacino, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda and Danny Aiello, I didn't expect this low-key a film. Aiello and Cusack not uttering one swear word? Wow, that's almost unheard of in films.

The story is very low-key, maybe too much so for a lot of people which includes me at times, but I enjoyed this. In fact, just watching and listening to Pacino and Cusack in this movie was plenty of entertainment. They played a mayor and a deputy mayor, respectively.

However, to be honest, I didn't always comprehend what was going on in the story. Apparently the mayor knew what was going on all the time and it was just business (or politics) as usual, for him.

Pacino's speech at the funeral of the young black kid was outstanding. Talk about a smooth political orator! Pacino played New York City Mayor "John Pappas." He reminded me a lot of another New Yorker, former governor Mario Cuomo who, although I disagreed with many of his statements, was a smooth talker like Pacino's character in here. I wonder if they modeled "Pappas" after Cuomo?