One Of The Greatest Films Ever Made. A Classic Crime Drama/Film-Noir/Thriller/Mystery.

Rating: 10/10 (14 April 2013)

L.A Confidential is one of the best films ever made that mixes great direction,wonderful characters and a excellent screenplay. It's not only one of the best films of the 90s,but of all-time,a classic of Film-Noir and Crime Drama and one of my favorite movies.
Based on James Ellroy's novel and set in Los Angeles,California in the early 1950s,L.A Confidential tells the story of three L.A.P.D cops Jack Vincennes(Kevin Spacey),Wendell "Bud" White(Russell Crowe)and Edmund J. Exley(Guy Pierce)who are all different kinds of police officers and had nothing in common. Jack does it for the fame,Bud does it for fear and brutality and Edmund does it to rise above the ranks and live up to his legendary Father who was also a cop. But when one of their own is murdered in a coffee shop robbery,the three cops must come together and solve the case that's filled with twists and turns.
L.A Confidential is a brilliant,classic film that was kind of overlooked and underrated in 1997. Despite doing well at the box-office,receiving critical acclaim and being nominated for 8 Oscars and winning two L.A Confidential was overshadowed by James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic. But thankfully L.A Confidential's reputation has grown and the film has become a classic and rightfully so because this film is one of those movies is that if you watch it on television or DVD you never turn it off and you are glued to the screen. One of the many reasons L.A Confidential is a great film is because of the way the film shows Los Angeles in the early 1950s,because when people think of L.A in the 50s they think movie stars,palm trees,beaches and sunny skies. But L.A.C gives viewers a dark world filled with intrigue and Mystery where L.A is surrounded by a dark and bleak underbelly of violence,sex,drugs and police corruption,selling a false and fake image of L.A as a beautiful paradise,but the L.A in this film is far from a paradise showing 1950s Los Angeles and how it really was the way people in L.A knew about but people outside of L.A didn't really know of. L.A.C is a Film-Noir in the truest since with the characters actions that are harsh and sometimes brutal where the characters defined by their actions just as much as their words and every character is not black and white but in shades of gray a Film-Noir in where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they say they are and there is plenty of twists and turns on every corner. And while L.A.C is in the great style and genre of Film-Noir it is not film in the classic style of Film-Noir:black and white photography,dark shadows and harsh and surreal lighting,but natural lighting. Dante Spinotti's beautiful photography and lighting is more natural and realistic where the sunlight is shown in the way it is in the real world and not in the movies. While the film is 2 1/2 hours the movie moves at such fast pace you feel like you the movie is 90 minutes instead of 137 minutes. There are many characters in the film but everyone gets enough screen time and no role,character or dialog is wasted. The screenplay by Curtis Hansen and Brian Helgeland is just excellent and memorable,with Hansen and Helgeland taking James Ellroy's gritty and tough dialog,the characters from the book and makes situations and moments feel real and just come to life. And while the film doesn't necessary follow the storyline exactly like the book,the spirit of Ellroy's style and writing is still felt throughout the film. The movie's three main characters Jack,Bud and Ed are great characters who fit in the style of Film-Noir and are really well-developed because in the beginning of the film you do not always like them or the things that they do but as the film goes along you begin like them and relate to the three characters in different ways and discover their complex personalities and who they are Although L.A.C isn't an Action film there are a few great Action scenes in the film that are filled with great suspense and surprises during the Action scenes. The final 15-20 minutes of the film is Crime Drama and Film-Noir at it's best and will have you glued to the screen with it's Action and great suspense. A great ending.
The whole cast is brilliant in their roles. Kevin Spacey is excellent as Sgt. Jack Vincennes,with Spacey bringing a calm and cool feeling to the performance. Russell Crowe is brilliant and at his best as Wendell Bud White,with Russell bringing anger and intensity to the role. Guy Pearce is fantastic as Ed Exley,with Pearce conveying intelligence and cleverness with the performance. Great character actor James Cromwell is terrific and memorable as cop Dudley Smith. Kim Basinger is wonderful and beautiful as Lynn Bracken,a hooker with a heart of gold and Bud's love interest. Danny DeVito is great as slimy tabloid reporter Sid Hudgens. The Underrated David Strathaim is fabulous and smooth as Pierce Moorehouse Patchett,Lynn's pimp. Ron Rifkin(D.A Ellis Loew),Simon Baker(Matt Reynolds),Graham Beckel(Dick Stensland)and Plalo Seganti(Johnny Stompanato)give fine performances as well.
The direction by Curtis Hanson is excellent,with Hanson always moving the camera and keeping the film moving at a tight pace with a great visual style while also doing well with the Action scenes. Great direction by Hanson.
The score by Jerry Goldsmith is intense,brooding,excellent and fits in with film's Film-Noir tone. I also loved Goldsmith's homage to his classic score from Chinatown in one of the scenes. Great score from Goldsmith. The film also has great songs on the soundtrack from Dean Martin(The Christmas Blues,Powder Your Face with Sunshine),Kay Starr(Wheel Of Fortune),Jonny Mercer(Hit The Road To Dreamland)and more.
In final word,if you love Crime Dramas,Film-Noir,Mystery,James Ellroy or films in general I highly suggest you see L.A Confidential,an absolute classic of cinema that you can watch again and again and never get tired of. Highly Recommended. 10/10.