L.A. Confidential gives us all the goods...in a tasteful and original way.

Rating: 10/10 (26 June 2001)

L.A. Confidential is a diamond in the rough. Slicing through the haze of contemporary Hollywood, Curtis Hanson presents a moral tale within the guise of a "trashy," noirish crime mystery. This film sparkles because it satisfies the movie-lover (action sequences that are both exciting and original; heart-felt romance; the portrayal of strong but not infallible heroes) while it also plays out as a powerful morality tale. L.A. Confidential casts light on the sins of Hollywood and of all Americans: greed, lust, ambition, selfishness. The semantic elements of the film, notably the noirish atmosphere and obligatory gun-fights, reinforce the nostalgic feel of the film. We are taken back to the Classical Era of Hollywood, before the evolution of the big blockbuster. Like Grease, L.A. Confidential satisfies our yearning for a simpler time.

Yet the film's narrative is by no means simple, even though it feels so accessible to the true film-lover. For this reason, L.A. Confidential avoids cliches and refuses to draw the line between good and evil for the viewer. Rather, the viewer must observe events, weigh evidence, and play detective along with a perfectly-cast triumvirate of Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Guy Pierce. L.A. Confidential draws the audience in and never lets go until the climactic finale. Crowe and Spacey are as deserving of Oscars for this film as for Gladiator and American Beauty, if not more so.
Perhaps my own nostalgia shapes my opinions today. In a way, it is nostalgia for a year, 1997, that could produce a movie like L.A. Confidential that, faced with the likes of Shawshank Redemption and Titanic, would not even win Best Picture. How much could possibly have changed in five years? Just look at the weak film crops of 2000 and 2001 and one realizes that L.A. Confidential would make any movie today pale in comparison. However, it is not enough to say that L.A. Confidential is the best of what's available. Somehow, someway, Curtis Hanson and his cast put together all the tangibles and intangibles to create a movie that "has everything" - action, romance, mystery, suspense, superb writing, breathtaking acting....and the list goes on. Hanson has done more than infuse new life into the crime genre; he has created a cinematic masterpiece with life lessons waiting to discovered beneath its surface.