John Cusack is his deputy mayor and he manages to portray a man who understands the gritty reality of 'politics as usual' while still honestly believing that he and the mayor can make a difference. But I'm too much of a cynic to believe completely. When Pacino's mayor cries indignation over the deaths in the city, I felt that all politicians are essentially actors. And that may be the point.
All politicians are essentially actors.
But let's be clear on exactly what that means. Anyone who has ever studied acting knows that to convincingly communicate an emotion to any but the most unsophisticated audiences, an actor must first get in touch with the emotion within himself. He visits the cop's widow . He visits the boy's father. He promises an investigation.