Justice Deconstructed

Rating: 10/10 (17 June 1999)

What is the meaning of the word 'justice'? This is a question that Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential" compels its audience to ask numerous times. The film, which is based on James Ellroy's novel offers two vastly differing views on the meaning of justice, explicated in the varying styles of police work that the characters perform. Each man represents a different and opposing discourse within the police department. There is much "dialogic" between each of the discourses. For example, the commander, Dudley says "the department needs smart men (political men) like Exley and direct men like White". The differences between these characters will be discussed later on. At first each discourse exists in its own realm, in terms of binary oppositions. But later on, the characters realize that they cannot do their jobs to the utmost of their ability when they are stuck solely in their own methodology of police work, and therefore the story begins to deconstruct the various binary oppositions.
BUD WHITE (Russell Crowe) - White is an officer who is ready at any moment to break the rules, taking the law into his own hands to ensure that justice is served, however he is barely able to keep his raging violence under control. In fact, he adhere's to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job. He has no problem being called upon to do dirty work such as beating confessions out of criminals. White is man, whose driving force seems to be that of seeking revenge for his dead mother (killed by his father). One of the interesting things about him is that he never hesitates to beat a man who inflicts harm to a woman.
ED EXLEY (Guy Pierce) - Exley is the golden boy of the police force, and will do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out by breaking the rules of conduct. He is a straight-laced, strictly by the book officer, who shows his desire to get ahead by his willingness to speak out against other officers when he feels that they do something wrong. "Are you truly prepared to be despised within the department", Dudley asks. "Yes sir, I am", Exley replies. Dudley also asks him if he would be able to beat a confession out of a man he knew to be guilty, plant evidence on a man he knew to be guilty or shoot a man in the back in order to be sure that some hot shot lawyer would not be able to get him off. Of course, Exley's reply to all of these questions is "no".
JACK VINCENNES (Kevin Spacey) - Vincennes has a different agenda altogether, and it does not have much to do with justice at all, but nevertheless, his style marks a specific discourse within this particular police department, the LAPD. He wants the spotlight on television and the headlines in the newspaper. He is even the technical advisor for a T.V. show called "Badge of Honor". In one brilliant scene Vincennes goes to a house to make an arrest for narcotics abuse and he wants a movie premier in the background of the picture taken by the press.
Each of these three men represent different ways (or discourses) of conducting police work. At first, all of these discourses are depicted as separate, but constantly conversing and conflicting with one another.
In the course of the film, the Night Owl massacre takes place where a number of patrons are killed as well as White's partner, Stenzland. As the film progresses, the men begin to realize that nothing is black and white and they must work together to solve the crime. Exley suspects that White is up to wrong-doing and thus needs a way of keeping tabs on him. Vincennes agrees to help Exley as long as Exley will help him with another case. The men who were before always displaying conflict are now working with each other. White and Exley are now the true opposing forces within the department and the two come to a violent confrontation when White finds out that they have both been sleeping with the same woman. But despite their differences and perhaps their hate for one another, the men are put in the position of having to put aside their differences and unite their ways in order to solve the case, as Exley has found evidence that another man in the department (that I will not mention) may be the mastermind behind the massacre.
At this point it is evident that no one police discourse is going to be enough to solve this crime; both men realize it and accept it. This is exhibited most convincingly in the climax of the film when Exley has the mastermind at gunpoint. The man asks Exley, "Are you going to shoot me or arrest me"? We of course believe that Exley will make the arrest and further his reputation as the 'golden-boy'. We know this primarily from the earlier conversations between Dudley and Exley. But at the last possible moment, just before all of the backup arrives, Exley seemingly goes against himself and does something that neither he nor Dudley thought he was capable of doing. But the real question is; does he really go against himself? He may seemingly go against his own methodology, but does his view of justice really change or does he come to a higher realization of the essence of justice? I always find myself asking this question as the film ends.

**** out of ****