L.A. Confidential (1997) / T…

L.A.
Confidential
(1997) / Thriller-Mystery
MPAA Rated: R for violence, nudity,
sexuality, opiate references, and vocabulary

Running Time: 138 min.
Cast: Gink Pearce, Russell
Crowe, Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, David Strathairn, Danny
De Vito, Graham Beckel, Ron Rifkin, Paul Guilfoyle, Simon Baker
Big cheese: Curtis Hanson
Screenplay: Brian Helgeland,
Curtis Hanson (based on the narrative by James Ellroy)

Based on James Ellroy's novel,

LA Confidential

is a modern noirish tale
of how police corruption and the flourishing of organized crime go hand in
hand,  as well as how public decisions are dictated by public image, 
strange bedfellows, and the allure of the Hollywood glamour industry. 
Many of the incidents and characters are based on real-life events that
occurred in Los Angeles during the same period, including "goon squad" police
tactics, brothels that catered to clients looking to make it with movie stars,
and the feeding of information to entertainment sources looking to make a buck
off of the town's seamy side.

The setting is the early 1950s, Los Angeles (of course), where we follow the
exploits of several police officers, all motivated by different things, but
they soon are united by a common cause.  Ed Exley (Pearce.

)

is a green, but very
ambitious police officer who desires strongly to follow in his father's
footsepts by becoming a detective lieutenant, which he attains by taking
partial credit for the infamous Nite Owl murders, where three men barge into a
diner and kill all of the inhabitants inside, including a former police
officer named Stensland (Beckel,

)  Stensland's former partner is Bud White
(Crowe,

), a rough-and-tumble cop as loyal as they come, but also willing to do
the things that Exley is not, namely, to cross over the line of the law to see
that justice is served.  In the mix is an old-time narc cop named Jack
Vincennes (Spacey,

), who has been making extra bucks on the side as an
informant for a tabloid publication named "Hush-Hush", while also serving as
an advisor to the popular television program, "Badge of Honor".  Their
lives become entwined when various aspects of the "open and shut" Nite Owl
case begin to unravel, leading the men to independently try to get to the
bottom of just what happened on that night, the answers to which might lead to
an exposure to people of power that are beyond their abilities to take down.

Although a great deal of Ellroy's novel had to be pared down in order to
accommodate a feature length film, credit the screenwriting team of Brian
Helgeland (

) and Curtis Hanson (

The Bedroom
Window, The Silent Partner

) for being able to tie up all of the loose ends of
the original story and make it not only easy to understand, but also to
deliver a powerhouse film in the process.  With so many characters, plot
turns, revelations, and more than a few subplots, it would have been easy to
confuse the viewer, but thankfully, for those paying attention, it's far from
convoluted.  Hanson easily anticipates those times when character names
or events may be forgotten, and he utilizes momentary flashbacks in order to
make for easy recall, and it makes a world of difference.  All the same,
how much you get out of it will be greatly determined with how well you can
pay attention; it's not the sort of film you can prepare a sandwich in the
kitchen while it plays.  Luckily, even those who admit to short
attentions spans will likely be too reeled in to leave the screen.  The
adapted screenplay would rightfully scoop up the Academy Award.

The casting is gutsy, putting two relatively unknown (at the time) Australian
actors as the leads.  Both Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe deliver
splendidly, completely heroic and fascinating in roles that, on the surface
seem pat, but both characters undergo subtle changes and maturation throughout
the film.  The casting of Kim Basinger (

) is also a decided risk, as her
previous work would suggest that she has gotten by mostly on her looks and
very modest acting ability, but the role seems tailor-made for her, utilizing her
strengths in being alluring yet vulnerable.  She would win her first and
only Oscar for her performance.

Not since

Chinatown

has a modern noir film been able to captivate on
this level, and while it falls just short of being the artistic masterpiece that
Roman Polanski had been able to deliver, it's difficult to imagine improving

LA Confidential

to make it any more engaging or satisfying.  It's gutsy,
gritty and perfectly paced, much like the best of the film noir classics that
were being made during the era the film is set.  In the end, it's really
about how to tell a story that makes

L.A. Confidential

heads and
shoulders above other cop thrillers of its era.  One of the best films of
the 1990s.