L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1997 David N. Butterworth
Rating: *** (Maltin scale)
It's the early 1950s and the lure of Tinseltown brings the hapless and the hopeful to the City of Angels. Maybe to make it as a Hollywood movie star. Or maybe just to see one.
But beneath the glitz and the glamour and the celebrity lies a dark and dangerous underbelly--crooked cops, mob rule, corruption, homicide, vice. The L.A.P.D. have their hands (or pockets) full. The relationship between three officers--men with very different agendas--forms the fascinating core of "L.A. Confidential," writer/director Curtis Hanson's stylish, handsome adaptation of James Ellroy's noir novel. It's a story about the good, the bad, and the beautiful.
Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) is young, college educated, and politically astute. He does things by the book, refuses to take payoffs, and snitches on fellow officers, all in the name of justice (and career advancement). Exley is not the most popular policeman on the force.
Bud White (Russell Crowe), on the other hand, believes that the quickest way to get a confession out of a suspect is to beat it out of him. He's a muscle guy who uses violence as "a necessary adjunct to the job." His sense of justice isn't much different from Exley's, but his methods are.
Then there's Jack Vincennes (the terrific Kevin Spacey), a flashy, showbiz-influenced crimestopper who acts as technical advisor for a Dragnet-style television show. Vincennes also scams for a sleazy tabloid, getting front-page notoriety nabbing potheads in the act by Hush Hush huckster Sid Hudgeons (Danny DeVito).
Sparks fly as Ed, Bud, and Jack's distinctly differing styles come into conflict--and out again--as they investigate the Nite Owl Massacre, a six-person bloodbath in a coffee shop that took one of their own. Adding pudding to the mix is an icy cool millionaire pornographer pimp (David Strathairn), whose hookers are cut to look like movie stars. These include the Veronica Lake-inspired Lynn Bracken, played by a smoldering Kim Basinger in some great-looking, gravity-defying gowns.
It's absorbing, colorful stuff.
Curtis Hanson has taken a significant step forward with this film, displaying depth and detail that was lacking in his previous psycho-bound thrillers, "The River Wild" and "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle." Lovingly photographed by Dante Spinotti, "L.A. Confidential" is sleek and satisfying, full of complex characters expertly played by a fine cast. While the plot's intricate twists and turns pay homage to noir films of the '40s and '50s, the film maintains a 1990's sensibility with some extreme bloodletting, so be warned. Otherwise, "L.A. Confidential" is a solid, confident thriller.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@mail.med.upenn.edu
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