City Hall

“Many of CITY HALL’s scenes are extended sections of meetings, hearings, and events related to the populations who bear the brunt of those inequities: minorities, immigrants, homeless, addicts, veterans, elderly, disabled. I know some viewers felt they could watch Wiseman’s doc for hours more, but I seem to have developed a low tolerance for meeting monologues.. I was more interested in the sections showing government workers making changes to the environment—managing traffic jams remotely, collecting trash, constructing bike lanes. But I was inspired by a Latina negotiator at a women’s empowerment event, telling her story of hard-won success in a man’s world.

“Setting off the events and the workaday are shots of the Boston skyline, triple deckers and brownstones, government buildings, and waterfront—refreshing quiet interludes.

“Wiseman portrays a city that cares, that walks the talk, that dives into problems. CITY HALL reaches its emotional high point in a duet of the national anthem by two Boston cops—one a traditionally Irish-looking man and the other, a brown-skinned woman. 3 cats.”

Chris says: “Thankful that the entire thing was not actually filmed in Government Center (the building on the poster); as one can glean from the parking ticket queues, it’s as Brutalist inside as out and thus the Most Depressing Building in Boston. While I feel sheepish complaining about length, even for Wiseman this is excessive, with about only 65-75% of it really being necessary. And yet, those three hours or so (out of four and a half) are often great–my favorite parts were the transitional neighborhood montages, which provided silence (and relief) amongst all the oration. Also, as an adopted Bostonian who never before really gave Marty Walsh much consideration, I can’t deny that this isolates and makes a solid case for his worth as Mayor. 4 cats“