2 Stars

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2000)

Stylistic recreation of L.A.-based noir pictures of past years. Struggles under weight of complex, character-driven plot. Excels in strong performances by Crowe, DeVito, and Basinger. Overall, however, given too much credit for a genre that has been better addressed in "Chinatown" among others. Basinger won Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.