City of Hope

I've seen several John Sayles films and have been more or less impressed with all of them. This finely wrought and under appreciated little treasure though is probably his most complex and evocative. It's a formidable task tying together the loose ends of lives Sayles starts with into a coherent drama. All this done in the milieu of a corrupt city, tangled relationships and madness. Even the humour is bleak. There's nothing here that employs maudlin sentiment or melodrama, though. Somehow the tragedy is alleviated by a pervasive and dramatically ironic atmosphere of hope. It's in the pours and veins of this movie.. there's a human quality to it that's difficult to pin down but once detected transforms it into something special.

This is a lengthy film with multiple short stories and vignettes along with an all star cast. It works surprisingly well. This well done piece of work is certainly a curiosity piece and may someday be destined to become a "new classic."

John Sayles knows how to write a movie. More than that, however, Sayles knows how to compose such a fantastic ending to a movie. He can weave concepts and ideas from scene to scene and from character to character showing us all the different shades of the spectrum while still maintaining a mostly unbiased view of politics and corruption. In Sayles' City of Hope, this is no different, and I am not surprised that as I peruse through it's film page that less then 2,000 people have viewed this cinematic genius at work. Throughout the film, we are introduced to an easy count of 30 characters, who we can understand and compare, whether they're on screen for one hour or one minute. Vincent Spano and Joe Morton hold the most ground and screen time while never letting the viewer down on their performance. While Tony Lo Bianco and John Sayles are nothing short of brilliant in their roles as well. But above them all, David Straithairn subtly steals the show with one helluva performance that we never take full notice of until the incredible ending.

I love how Sayles gave himself and Kevin Tighe the ugliest characters in the film (after seeing him do so well in Sayles earlier masterpiece, Matewan). All I can say is that this film is absolutely worth watching. It reminds us (as it reminded me) how badly society needs help and how problems don't go away until it is finally realized that such problems exist. The separation between social classes is apparent and it is also the major issue that Sayles weaves in and out of most of his character motives. Racial slurs, bigotry, prejudice, and politics are all where Sayles points the blame in this film.

And by the end, Sayles has us wanting more as we see the lowest and most unnoticed character in the entire film shout for help and is totally unheard. 10/10

The city is a multi-racial cauldron of backroom deals, petty criminals, unavoidable corruption, sincere endeavor, and most of all, people trying to make it to the next day with a piece of the pie. There is the black city counsellor trying to do right against the tide. There are the two black kids in trouble with the law and they make an accusation. There is the young Italian man with loads of baggage doing unnecessary petty crime. There is a whole system that is geared to deal-making and might makes right.

John Sayles has painted a portrait of an American city broiling with all the urban issues. He created an interconnected world where people do what they have to do to survive. It can be a little messy and it does feel a little constructed. These characters are bound together in what is almost a fairy tale for the city. My mind immediately goes to Crash (2004). This is what that movie wants to be. This movie says the things that Crash clunkily spouts. Ultimately, this movie has some critical praise, but not much from the public.

Unsettling and deeply emotional take on the average American city (big or small) by John Sayles ("Lone Star", "The Sunshine State"), who manages to mend an unlikely story of local politics, corruption, and mistrust among the citizens of a New Jersey town into one is remarkable. Among the many ordeals that occur here are is the fed up son (Vincent Spano) who wants to break out of the already arranged enviroment set up by his dishonest contractor father (Tony Lo Bianco) and one of the town's councilmen (Joe Morton) who looks into the case of two black kids who accuse a college professor of approaching them in a city park at night.

"City of Hope" has the emotional feel of a movie made by John Cassavetes or Martin Scorsese carefully mixed together. Plus, the camera work of Robert Richardson is great in showing the viewer the bleak outlook of an urban city and its inhabitants. And it showcases Sayles' best work our of the movies that he's made.