SHOULD HAVE WON BEST PICTURE OF 1997

Rating: 10/10 (1 October 2001)

CONTINS SPOILERS Written and acted with style and intelligence, A murder in an all night diner eventually changes perspectives of three L.A. detectives, with very different backgrounds and reasons why they joined the force, of what justice is really all about. Officer Bud White, champion & savior of women abused, loyal to his fellow officers (he risked his career by not turning in his partner who was really a corrupt cop without his knowledge) who had one glaring weakness, A uncontrollable violent temper on women beaters. According to his corrupt partner Dick Stensland, "He got his priorities all screwed up" because of it. And he (Stensland) was a alcoholic on top of that. White, in the end though, got the gorgeous Lynn Brackens to appreciate his "screwed up priorities". Congrats to you Bud and your "screwed up priorities".
Sgt. Ed Exley, son of a legendary lieutenant who was shot while on duty. He is the complete opposite on Officer White as far as loyalty goes. He goes by the book, extremely intelligent, a political ambitious animal who would sell out his own father to get ahead. Then again maybe not since his father's death is why he joined the force in the first place. So involved with his crusade that even in his own admittance, "He lost his sight of what justice really was". He started as watch commander with a burning ambition to becoming a homicide detective like his father, that was continuously denied by the Captain Dudley Smith until he rats out on his fellow officers. He was the perfect person in the end to explain it all what happened (the murder case). His strength, although he looked like a nerd ("Ed, lose the glasses") he had a backbone of steel when he needed to have it and he wasn't going to let anybody use him without getting something in return. The writer was absolutely brilliant in how he got the two complete opposites (White and Exley) joined together in alliance to fight off the corrupt, murdering cops, cleverly masterminded by Captain Smith.
Sgt. Jack Vincennes, celebrity cop, suave, smooth "Hollywood Jack", consultant of a television show (A Dragnet copycat), who took payoffs from a Enquirer-type writer Sid Hutchins in exchange for top stories. He had a different angle: He worked for Narcotics wanting to find the missing Mickey Cohen heroin which was the primary motive for the killings by Capt. Smith and his corrupt employees. He is the first to realize that Capt Smith is the killer and Smith had to kill him to tie up his loose ends. How he reached me was that until he develop a conscience, he was so deep in his involvement with his "outside hobbies" that he doesn't even remember why he became a good guy. At least White and Exley did.
L.A. Confidential is one of my favorite all time flick that is worth watching again. All of this summary is written on the "Q/T" and very "HUSH HUSH!" "Time to hit the road!"