Review of L.A. Confidential (1997) by Matt G — 05 Nov 2016

Russel Crowe, Guy Pierce and Kevin Spacey star as three police officers in LA Confidential. Los Angeles in 1950 was painted as the city of angels where all your dreams come true. LA Confidential depicts the underbelly of Los Angeles which features drugs, sex trafficking and corruption. The film starts off introducing Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) and Bud White (Russel Crowe). Jack thinks of himself as somewhat of a celebrity cop. He works with a sleazy publicist Sid Hudgens (Danny Devito) and gives him tips on where the action is for 50 dollars a pop. Bud is an enforcer and plays the bad cop role of violence first, questions later to make us of his authority. Although both of them skirt the legality of their authority, their boss Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) does not discourage or ask them to curtail their methods. Despite their questionable methods of enforcement, you still get the impression that both of these men are good natured and simply doing what they feel is necessary to survive.

Because the LA police becomes known for being corrupt and unjust, a new officer Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) comes in to clean things up. As the son of an infamous cop who was murdered, Exley strives to become a great cop like his father was. His willingness to testify and turn in fellow officers instantly makes him a hated member of the force. A gruesome murder involving 6 people and Bud's ex-partner is when the story really shifts gears. The investigation has each of the officers questioning different leads that lead to some nefarious scandals and characters. This includes a millionaire running a prostitution ring, an official who is being blackmailed, and a grizzled ex-cop. In the middle of all of this is sexy dame working girl Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger) who seems to know all the characters in play. When each of the three are convinced that three black men are being framed for the murders they have no choice but to work together despite their extreme differences. Each character develops as the investigation goes on. Jack goes through a self-examination and questions his own morality and motives. Bud questions his role of being an enforcer at the request of his boss. Ed wonders if his methods of isolating cops and striving for justice really is the best method. All three realize they must make best of their traits and use them to solve the case.

LA Confidential is simply a cop drama at its best. No film has better depicted the time era where LA was dealing with the underground mob influence of Mickey Coen. The plot is full of twists and turns and the stakes of the scandals and corruption escalate as the film progresses. The performances are electric and each actor encapsulates the character's weaknesses and strengths to help solve the mystery. Basinger steals each scene she is in as the sexy damsel in distress. The film noir direction of the film is brilliant and the films nomination for best direction and film are well deserved. The action of the film is violent and direct and does not pull back any punches and it ends quite explosively. The film's story can be confusing on a first viewing as there are so many angles and characters in the story on top of the film having 3 main characters. This is really the only film's weakness, but a subsequent viewing has cleared many of this up and LA confidential is one of my all-time favorite films.

- 11.5.2016.