Superb film-making

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2017)

As a fan of mysteries and thrillers and who likes a lot of the cast (such a great one on paper), expectations were high for 'LA Confidential'. And 'LA Confidential' didn't disappoint at all, it is an outstanding film on all levels and should have won the Best Picture Oscar of 1997 and won more.
Visually, 'LA Confidential' looks great. The photography is both audacious and stylish, suitably the story and genre superlatively. A good music score also helps and there is an appropriately haunting one courtesy of one of the greatest film composers ever. Curtis Hansen directs superbly, it has a lot of style and how it balances everything is so cleverly done, he hasn't made a better film and to me it's the best directing of his entire career.
'LA Confidental' richly deserved its Best Screenplay Oscar. No other film that year came close to the film's rich character development, complexity and its refusal to fall into cliché territory. All the characters are compelling in their realism and none of them feel stereotypical or one-sided, actually breaking the mould of good cops and bad villains. The story is gripping in its intensity and thrills, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and very rare a dull moment.
The acting is exceptionally full-blooded and there isn't a single weak link. How Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey weren't nominated for Oscars is unfathomable. Spacey in particular is brilliant, though Crowe is appropriately hard-nosed and Pearce has rarely been better.
James Cromwell and Danny De Vito also shine. Cromwell is chillingly insidious and De Vito has never been slimier. Whether Kim Basinger deserved her Oscar win is up for debate, to me it was a very worthy win where she gives her role hard edge and charm.
In conclusion, superb film-making and an outstanding film on all levels. 10/10 Bethany Cox