Mad City (1997)

Mad City is a 1997 American thriller drama film directed by Costa-Gavras, written by Tom Matthews based on a story by Matthews and Eric Williams, and starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta, with a supporting cast featuring Mia Kirshner, Alan Alda, Blythe Danner, Ted Levine, Raymond J. Barry and Larry King. This is Costa-Gavras's first English-language film since Music Box. The title comes from a nickname of Madison, Wisconsin, where the film was originally going to be set and was used for its multiple meanings.

Plot

After being sacked from his job at a museum, former security guard Sam Baily returns to the place with a shotgun and dynamite and takes his former boss Mrs. Banks and a number of children (at the museum on a school field trip) as hostages. Local television journalist Max Brackett is in the museum using the restroom after an interview with the curator about financial difficulties. He becomes directly involved in the hostage situation, acting as Baily's intermediary to the outside world and the police.

Baily accidentally shoots a friend of his, Cliff Williams, who's still working there as a security guard, sending him to the hospital. He later fires the weapon again, frightening the children and becoming increasingly unstable as he takes caffeine pills to stay awake. Along with the young intern coworker Laurie Callahan among the growing media circus outside, Brackett reports the inside story exclusively on television, reviving his career. By being free to come and go, he negotiates with a national network and its star news anchorman, Kevin Hollander, with whom Brackett has an unhappy history.

Baily wants the police to let him return home to his wife Jenny and kids, refusing to accept that he's going to jail. Brackett, on the other hand, makes a deal rather than let Hollander have the story, prompting Hollander to publicly accuse Brackett of prolonging the crisis and endangering the children. Laurie then betrays Brackett, proving that, like him, she's willing to do whatever it takes to further her own career.

When his friend Cliff dies, Baily starts to realize he's lost everything. Baily and Brackett allow the situation to worsen until the police finally have had enough, issuing a five-minute ultimatum to Baily for release of the hostages. Baily lets the children and Mrs. Banks go. He also sends out Brackett to try to convince the police to put down their guns so he could personally usher out Baily. But rather than face prison and Jenny, Baily locks the museum doors on Brackett, who's outside trying to get the police to listen.

Brackett tries to get him to come out, but Baily ignores him. Brackett is unaware that Baily has decided to set off his explosives, committing suicide. The blast knocks Brackett off his feet and into the parking lot, sending debris everywhere. As reporters surround Brackett to ask about Baily, all he can say is, "We killed him," referring to how the media handled the situation.

Cast

John Travolta as Sam Baily

Dustin Hoffman as Max Brackett

Alan Alda as Kevin Hollander

Mia Kirshner as Laurie Callahan

William Atherton as Dohlen

Raymond J. Barry as Agent Dobbins

Ted Levine as Chief Alvin Lemke

Robert Prosky as Lou Potts

Blythe Danner as Mrs. Banks

Akosua Busia as Diane

Randall Batinkoff as Executive

Lucinda Jenney as Jenny Baily

William O'Leary as Executive

Tammy Lauren as Miss Rose

Ebbe Roe Smith as Bartholomew

Kyla Pratt as Kid

John Landis as Doctor

Julio Oscar Mechoso as Sergeant

David Clennon as Street Preacher

Jay Leno as Himself

Richard Portnow as Agent

Bill Rafferty as Bill Gottsegen

Sean O'Kane as Assistant

Patricia Smith as Jenny's Mother

Dirk Blocker as Bowler

Bill Nunn as Cliff Williams (uncredited)

Larry King as Himself (uncredited)

Production

In April 1994, it was announced Universal had purchased a spec script titled Mad City written by Tom Matthews from a story co-authored by Matthews and Eric Williams. The script eventually went into turnaround, where it ended up at Warner Bros.

Release

Box office

In the United States, Mad City opened at #6 at the box office, with an opening weekend gross of $4.6 million. It went on to gross $10.5 million, but when compared to its $50 million budget, Mad City was a box-office bomb.

Critical reception

The film has a score of 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 31 reviews. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100 (mixed or average), based on 23 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times noted Mad City is inspired by the film Ace in the Hole, and gave the movie two stars of four, writing, "The movie knows what it wants to do, but lacks the velocity for lift-off."

At the 1997 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, John Travolta was nominated for Worst Actor, but lost to Tom Arnold for McHale's Navy.

See also

Gladbeck hostage crisis

References

External links

Mad City at IMDb

Mad City at Metacritic

Mad City at Box Office Mojo

Mad City at Rotten Tomatoes