Sleaze and corruption in the City of Angels

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2017)

It is the early 1950s and Los Angeles is a great city to live in; the police keep everybody safe and everybody has a chance of making their dreams come true at least that is the Hollywood version. The reality is less pleasant; cops are more than willing to rough up a suspect or plant evidence to secure a conviction and many who dream of becoming famous end up in vice. This story is centred around three detectives; Bud White, a man who is willing to get rough but won't tolerate those who hurt women; Ed Exley, an honest cop who would rather see a guilty man go free than break the rules; and Jack Vincennes, a celebrity cop who takes payment to make sure any newsworthy people getting arrested make the front page as well as working as an adviser for a popular police show. They end up working for a common purpose after a massacre in a local diner where one of the victims was a recently fired cop, White's ex-partner. Evidence points to a trio of black youths but evidence isn't always what it seems and the detectives soon start to believe they got the wrong people. As they dig deeper they uncover corruption in the LA Police Department, high end prostitutes who look like movie stars and the blackmail of city officials.
This is a great thriller with a real noirish feel; it may be twenty years old but it still feels fresh thanks to the great performances from an ensemble cast of quality actors. The story has a grittiness to it as few of the characters are particularly pure and even those who are will have to bend the rules more than a little at times. There is a good central mystery concerning who is behind the killings and when the truth comes out it is neither too obvious nor too much of a surprise. There is a sense that our protagonists are in real danger as those who they should be able to trust are the very people who present the threat. Over the course of the film we learn about the characters backgrounds in a way that makes them more sympathetic; even some who initially come across as brutish or sleazy. I can't say I know that much about '50s LA, apart from what I've seen in movies, but this certainly feels authentic. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of crime drama; it is a great example of the genre.