Hollywood Wasn`t Ready For It

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2003)

Hard to imagine now but in 1997 many of the cast in LA CONFIDENTIAL weren`t well known . Kevin Spacey had an Oscar under his belt but hadn`t appeared in many starring roles , Guy Pearce was known only to NEIGHBOURS fans while Russell Crowe was remembered only for his powerhouse performance in ROMPER STOMPER . In fact it sounds ridiculous in 2003 but the two best known members of the cast when this was released were Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger
The real star of LA CONFIDENTIAL is the script . I`ve never read the novel but I`ve often heard it`s unfilmable . Never once did I get the feeling this was true while watching the film adaption because the only thing to strike me about the script was its intelligence , yes you`ve read that right an intelligent Hollywood script complete with violence , wit and a couple of shocking twists and turns . The only criticism about the story is the old cliche of one of the cops being a naive idealist while the other cop is a violent fascist thug .
LA CONFIDENTIAL was stuffed at the Oscars by TITANIC but that`s not surprising . How many academy voters are going to love a film about corruption , vice and murder set in Hollywood ?