Review of To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) by Foghorn L — 02 Sep 2009
The quintessential 80s movie. If you had to sum up the decade in film this would be the one. Bold claim yes and is as redundant as a film's repeated viewings. To quote Friedkin on the DVD special feature: 'Nothing is what it seems, everything is counterfeit.' The film mates high style, art & gloss in contrast to the gritty non-hollywood feel of it's heroins. And it does it perfectly.
This is Friedkin at his best and one scene in particular - (no, not the car chase) can sum up his best work. The sequence on how money is made is pure magic between camera & cutting room floor. It's brilliant. To describe the plot as an 80s buddy cop/action flick would not do it any justice even though the film would heavily influence later entries like Lethal Weapon. In a nutshell, the central figure and his partner(s) are on the hunt to sting uber bad guy & counterfeit guru played by the always good William Dafoe. The story simply follows the reality of consequences in the world in which the characters live.
That's all you need to know. Queue the Wang Chung, sit back, enjoy the ride but don't get too comfortable. It's bumpy.
This review of To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) was written by Foghorn L on 02 Sep 2009.
To Live and Die in L.A. has generally received very positive reviews.
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