A stunning, captivating look at the corruption of the 1950s LAPD that proves that film noir masterpieces can still be made.

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2002)

The Maltese Falcon. The Third Man. Double Indemnity. The Killers. All are brilliant pieces of film noir, cinematic masterpieces that envelope the viewer and make him/her wish that they too could be involved in the lives of the elegant cops, robbers, and everything in between that they watch...even if it means getting shot at, accused of anything and everything and, of course, beat up by crooked police officers. All are also from the 1940s. Enter L.A. Confidential, Curtis Hanson's brilliant detailing of the corruption of the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1950s. From the opening credit sequence's Americana shots to the pinstripe suits, retrospective soundtrack, and oh-so Michael Corleone fedoras, the set and costumes are exquisite, mixing the glorious with the gloriously ugly and masterfully juxtaposing the glamour of the setting with its dirty, seamy underbelly. Russel Crowe (homicide), Guy Pearce (homicide), and Kevin Spacey (vice)are equally spectacular as the triumvirate of honest cops who go up against the baseness and big muscle of Los Angeles' rackets. James Cromwell plays police chief Dudley Smith to perfection, and Danny Devito turns in a solid performance as Sig Hudgens, the Hush-Hush magazine writer who is mixed up in something...we just don't know what. Kim Basinger is both gorgeous and utterly convincing in her rendition of the Veronica Lake look-alike prostitute who captures the hearts of a few too many people. The plot is meandering, skillfully woven, and appropriately deceitful. It is mesmerizingly suspenseful and worthy of the highest praise. Much credit to James Ellroy, whose novel inspired this first-tier work.
L.A. Confidential is one of the strongest, if not THE strongest, films noir to have come out of the new school. Beyond that, it shows what modern cinema as a whole can be--an involving, enveloping walk, jog, or sprint through a situation that moves the viewer to want anything but to go back to his or her actual life.