didn't like it when I first saw it, but now...

Rating: 9/10 (24 October 2005)

I did not like this film the first time I saw it.
It was during the films theatrical run, so it would have been 1997 or 1998. I saw an early morning screening at Greater Union in Melbourne when I should have been at school. I was not familiar with any of the actors, Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito excluded, but those two were "movie stars". I remember being especially impressed with Guy Pearce as Ed Exley, but that was about it. I found the story too dense and slow-moving, qualities I now greatly appreciate. Indeed, the dense and slow-moving Once Upon a Time in the West is my all-time favourite movie. It is not unusual that I now like the film so much. I once heard about a reviewer who voted Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America "worst film of the year", only to name it "best film of the decade" eight years later.
L.A. Confidential is quite possibly the best film of the nineties, superbly written, played, and put together. The script - written by director Curtis Hanson and collaborator Brian Helgeland from the "unfilmable" novel by James Ellroy - is simply superb, perfectly playing a three-character structure and intersecting in a way that is pleasing and unpredictable. The very lingo-ridden dialogue is also great, and the wonderful cast do a fine job of delivering it.
The contributions of the actors cannot be overstated, with each part played pitch perfect. This is an even greater accomplishment when you consider that each of the three lead characters is basically unlikeable. Jack Vincennes (Spacey) is a cop driven by a love of status and attention, Ed Exley, played by Guy Pearce, is a ruthlessly ambitious political-type cop, willing to do whatever is required to speed his climb up the ladder of the LAPD. Pearce delivers what is, in my opinion, easily the best performance of the film. Russell Crowe's brutal Bud White is given the chance to develop the most throughout the film, and Crowe handles this with trademark moxie. The fact that these three actors - given their characters are basically unlikeable - are able to make an audience come to respect and like them is testament to the wonderful script as much as it is to the actors.
But the acting goes much deeper. Kim Basinger won an Oscar for her role as Hooker With a Heart of Gold Lynn Bracken. James Cromwell also scores as police captain Dudley Smith. Also of note for me are the performances of Graham Beckel as Dick Stensland, and those of the three "Nite Owl Suspects".
Visually and sonically, the film omits (for me, at least) a strange, unplaceable vibe, especially noticeable in the opening scenes. I think this is due to the lack of any real score under these scenes. Composers and directors like usually to use the early portion of a film to set up character, and this same time is also used to set up the musical themes for each character. But in the case of L.A. Confidential, there is just a hollow absence. And it works perfectly.
There is not enough that can be said for this wonderful achievement, and there are a thousand reasons to see it. I cannot recommend L.A. Confidential highly enough.