City Hall
Zipporah Films | Release Date: October 28, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
88
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiOct 28, 2020
Even in a filmography with more than its fair share of impressive achievements, it deserves consideration as one of Wiseman’s greatest. Read full review
100
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeSep 19, 2020
It’s a civics lesson that’s subtly delivered within some thoroughly exciting documentary filmmaking. Read full review
100
The PlaylistJason BaileySep 15, 2020
What Wiseman’s film boils down to, in many ways, is a much-needed dose of competency porn – a snapshot of government officials trying their very best to do better, and to be better. And that might be the story he’s really telling: a reminder that government, for all of its speed bumps and snags, can work. It can help. The people running it just have to want it to. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 29, 2020
City Hall runs four and a half mostly engrossing hours, making it one of Wiseman’s longest. That sounds daunting, but I could have watched hours more of people simply talking to one another in auditoriums and across conference-room tables. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 27, 2020
With City Hall, his 45th feature, he [Wiseman] has composed another epic from a series of intricate, carefully arranged miniatures, a four-and-a-half-hour sprawl of a movie that will leave you admiring its agility and concision. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerSep 19, 2020
At a time when America looks like it's tearing apart at the seams, there’s something altogether reassuring — even downright inspiring — about Frederick Wiseman’s new documentary. Read full review
90
Screen DailyLee MarshallSep 19, 2020
Wiseman’s true subject here is arguably off-screen, shamed by example, guilty in absentia: the erosion of democratic values and civil, civic debate in an increasingly divided country. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiNov 5, 2020
I cannot think of another film that plainly and comprehensively lays bare the both the complex apparatus at work, and the people dedicated to serving its populace. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyNov 5, 2020
Wiseman has made something so mundane as to be absorbingly exotic, a civics-lesson procedural. As with any procedural, the people involved in the process are just as important to the story as the process is. Read full review
88
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 4, 2020
With City Hall, Wiseman brings his quiet observational skills to the day-to-day operations of local government, which is why the film is so well-timed for this particular moment. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineKeith UhlichSep 12, 2020
Its provocations can seem savage at a glance, but they emerge from an observational tranquility that is uniquely Frederick Wiseman’s own. Read full review
86
Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganOct 7, 2020
Wiseman’s top-down approach to looking at government is both effective at sketching out the priorities of those in charge as well as demonstrating what they’re actually able to execute. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnSep 19, 2020
City Hall doesn’t just deserve an audience; it deserves a conversation. Even as Wiseman celebrates the sophistication of American ideals in practice, his movie illustrates just how hard they are to grasp. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 29, 2020
Mr. Wiseman’s film shows us, without telling us, that American cities continue to be laboratories for rebirth and innovation. The spirit of this one is embodied in its mayor, Marty Walsh. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeSep 15, 2020
The result is both sober and inspiring: an urban progress report taking into account a plethora of government services, scutinized by Wiseman’s patient but unblinking eye. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloOct 28, 2020
It’s giving ordinary citizens the floor that makes the difference, and City Hall truly comes alive when Wiseman’s out on the street. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Sep 19, 2020
As always, Wiseman’s approach guarantees memorable encounters. Read full review
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