Review of To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) by Kevin N — 16 Apr 2009
An exhilerating vision by a director who doesn't make this kind of dark and visceral trip often enough. William Friedkin, when he truly applies himself, is one of the greatest painters of the crime film to date; this movie is a great example of the kind of visual ocean he allows his audience to swim through and the vicious sharks he unleashes under the water.
Hindered only by the awful Wang Chung score, this material feels fresh and shocking through a kind of grim realism; the story surprises us over and over again by breaking all the rules ordinarily applied to a crime genre film and instead makes its own agenda, plays its own god.
Even setting aside the exciting narrative and first-rate acting, the car chase toward the middle of the film is well-worth the watch alone; matching wits with his own signature adrenaline rush from over a decade earlier, Friedkin proves he is the ultimate master at high-speed white-knucklers.
Tense, absorbing and completely unpredictable.
This review of To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) was written by Kevin N on 16 Apr 2009.
To Live and Die in L.A. has generally received very positive reviews.
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