One of the Greatest Crime Films of all Time!

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2002)

THE PLOT: LA Confidential is based in the seedy Los Angeles of the 1950s. It is the story of three cops; Sergeant Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) is a celebrity cop, always out to make a buck catching famous people using drugs with the help of a sleazy gossip magazine writer (Danny DeVito) and is the consultant on a police drama TV show. Officer `Bud' White (Russel Crowe) is a rough and powerful brute, a hater of woman beaters who is not afraid to deliver his own brand of justice. And Detective Lieutenant Edmund J Exley (Guy Pierce) is the force's golden boy, who'll do anything to get ahead, as long as it's by the books. These three very different men are drawn into the investigation of a mass murder in the Night Owl, an all night diner. But not everything is as it seems as further revelations involving the Chief of Detectives (James Cromwell), a rich millionaire (David Stratharn) and a Veronica Lake look-alike call girl (Kim Baisinger) ensure the case is not easily filed away.
LA Confidential, as it was lauded on its' release in 1997, is the best piece of film noir since Chinatown, made 23 years earlier. Some even proclaim it Chinatown's superior. Both deal with corruption in a period `city of angels' LA and feature up and comers who would become huge stars. But most important of all, both contain rich and powerful twisted scripts. They are dark, twisting movies, diabolical in their construction. LA Confidential, like Chinatown before it, fits the film noir mantle like a glove, despite the apparent differences. The lighting, as well as not being in black and white (the usual standard for film noir) uses vibrant colour and most scenes take place in daylight, instead of the sinister and dark backstreets most common in the genre.
This is the kind of movie I love. Tapping into a seemingly dead form of filmmaking, but using modern restrictions (or lack of) to accommodate the style, LA Confidential has become a classic of crime and film noir. Full of twisting plotlines and revelations in the characters, it will always keep you guessing and make you want to watch it again to see if you can finally make perfect sense of the story. Pure Genius.
The script featured in LA Confidential is one of the best in recent years, and one of the best crime adaptations in cinema history. The tale comes from the bestselling epic novel of crime and corruption in 1950s LA. The novel, a twisting and vibrant tale over six hundred pages long, was believed unadaptable by most, including its author, James Ellroy. In fact, most proposals to convert it into film were thought ludicrous. That, and the fact that the film was not the type that huge Hollywood hits were made of. With three major characters instead of just one and a larger emphasis on mystery and intrigue than action, most Hollywood studios thought it an unattractive proposal to begin with. However, writers Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland were game to adapt the novel, keeping the characters and major plot points intact, and around these constructed a masterpiece of modern scriptwriting. The other pieces of the production, music, sets, costumes and photography all fit sleekly into the period timeframe.
LA Confidential is a film all about facades. First and foremost is the illusion of the picture perfect Los Angeles. The narration that commences the film perfectly captures the mood, as Danny DeVito exposes the lies of a peaceful and beautiful LA with his nasal vocals and sleazy tone. Hollywood and television are used to sell the image of Los Angeles, and so many young hopeful's dreams are crushed with the stark reality that confronts them when they arrive in `the city of angels'. However, the more important facades are those that present themselves in the characters. Everybody has a hidden agenda; everyone is more than they first appear, a 3-Dimensional character. Vincennes feels incredibly guilty over his corruption, White is smarter and more honourable than his brutish, psychotic appearance, Exley is determined to catch his `Rollo Tomasi' and Lynn Bracken is a woman who is afraid to give out her true self, hiding within her persona of a Veronica Lake look-alike call girl.
The film supports a stellar ensemble cast who all deliver multi-dimensional powerhouse performances. Kevin Spacey was selected for his role with the advise by the director to `think Dean Martin'. As a result, Jack Vincennes plays slick and cool, the celebrity cop, but beneath this exterior he feels guilty over what he has become. Strangely, Australians played the other two lead roles of the American cops. Russel Crowe is both brutal and valiant as Bud White, injecting his role with force and power, but also preserving the character's virtues, underlying emotions and fragility, while Guy Pearce plays the by-the-book Ed Exley, displaying a mixture of strength, craving for power and muted goodwill. Kim Baisinger is vulnerable and enchanting in her Academy Award winning role as Lynn Bracken. James Cromwell is suitably harsh and manipulative as the Chief of Detectives and Danny DeVito rounds out the cast with his sleazy and conniving gossip rag reporter Sid Hugeons.
In LA Confidential, most of the police are more corrupt than the criminals, and here lies the truth of the movie. LA Confidential is a story of corruption, false love, hatred, murder and lies in the city of Los Angeles, a story that attempts to expose the falsities fed to the American Public in the 1950s. Does it work? Undoubtedly. In 1997, LA Confidential walked away with the top awards from all film circles, except the Academy Awards, where it won Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Kim Baisinger), robbed of the top prize by the more popular but inferior Titanic. However, time is proving that LA Confidential was not just the best of 1997, but is one of the greatest crime movies of all time.