City of Hope Rating: Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Vincent Spano Tony Lo Bianco Stephen Lang Angela Bassett Complete Cast (16 total)

City of Hope Reviews

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Slightly didactic, immensely powerful
Thouht this film does not connect with the seamless mastery of Lone Star or even Matewan, it has an undeniable haunting power, especially in its lengthy and distanced final image. The major flaw in this film, and in Sayles films in general, is his tendency to use the screenplay as a pulpit, creating characters and dialogue to make an often heavy handed statement. Take for example, the two griping women who complain that no one listens to them, or the militant Black Muslim. Fortunately, Sayles quickly leaves the preaching behind and allows his characters, their dillemmas, and their interactions to move the audience subtly, emotionally, and profoundly. The intertwining narratives are constantly engaging- whenever the film would move from one to another, i would find myself excited to return to that thread. joe morton is the standout from the film, but the performances are universlly excellent. Highly reccomended.

Pay no attention to Maltin...
This film is every bit as good as the Amazon review says. Reminiscent in some ways of "Bonfire of The Vanities", it is a much, much better film than that one was, despite an obviously much lower-budget shooting. If you are a Cincinnatian, you will have a little bit of side-fun trying to identify many of the Cincinnati locales where much of this film was shot. It has a totally credible urban grittiness and one is not sure after the end of the film just how ironic the title was intended to be. Another film to see if you like this one is "City Hall", with Pacino,Cusack and Aiello.

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