It's ironic when a goal is accomplished almost by accident, and in that context, "Mad City" is certainly an ironic piece of filmmaking.
With this darkly comic drama, Greek director Constantin Costa-Gavras attempts to address the problem of manipulation in mass media, especially in television news. But he winds up being very manipulative himself in the way that he makes us care about his characters and situations, even when we're not sure we should.And many of the points he's trying to make here have been addressed to greater effect in (much better) films such as "Network" or "Dog Day Afternoon."
Still, the movie is fascinating going much of the way (though it's effectiveness is certainly undermined by a no-win ending) and is definitely helped by strong performances from its leads, a dream pairing of Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta.
Hoffman plays Max Brackett, a disgraced former network news reporter now working at a small network affiliate in California. Once a dedicated investigative journalist, he's now forced to work on so-called "fluff pieces."
But Max accidentally stumbles on a big story, a hostage crisis, when he's sent to interview the curator of the city's natural history museum (Blythe Danner). Sam Baily (Travolta), one of the museum's security guards, shows up to beg for his job back, and in the heat of the moment, pulls a gun on her and a museum full of schoolchildren - as well as Max, who's still inside.
Realizing the enormity of the situation, Max quickly corrals Sam and persuades the naive kidnapper to let him dictate terms to negotiators and the other journalists outside. Overnight, the story becomes national news and Sam becomes an inadvertent spokesman for the blue-collar unemployed.
Unfortunately, the crisis also begins to swell beyond Sam's control, especially upon the arrival of veteran network anchor Kevin Hollander (Alan Alda), a former nemesis of Max who's out to turn public sentiment against Sam.
What makes "Mad City" so unsettling is the fact that we're never quite sure whether Max is only out for himself and whether Sam really might be unbalanced and dangerous.
It helps that Hoffman and Travolta both play their characters somewhat enigmatically. And they're ably helped by a great supporting cast, which includes a really slimy turn from Alda and a surprisingly strong performance from Mia Kirschner as Max's initially reluctant and inexperienced protege.
But as mentioned, screenwriter Tom Matthews, a former print journalist, really writes himself (and Costa-Gavras and his cast) into a corner with the ending, which is not only disappointingly predictable but also mutes the film's impact.
"Mad City" is rated PG-13 for violence, profanity and a vulgar reference or two.