City of Hope

REVIEW
Sayles' take on the decline of the American city during the Reagan-Bush years is a masterfully layered exposé of corruption, greed, political favortism, street crime and neighborhood vigilantism. Spano stars as the disillusioned son of a corrupt city contractor who, fed up with graft, quits his "ghost job" on a high-rise construction project only to find himself at the center of a swirling web of local political intrigue. Sayles manages to tinge his story with just about every major news item of the early '90s and then some. Spano is well-cast as the enlightened thug, and Morton puts in a fine turn as an idealistic City Councilman. Another Sayles veteran, Strathairn, is terrific as a street person witness to it all.