Sex...drugs...and dodgy Irish accents but oh well!

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2010)

L.A Confidential is a very impressive film. It has style, flow and a strong plot, not to mention, an extremely enviable assembled cast. The film is not perfect, of course, it is extremely difficult if not impossible for a film past or present to be described as "perfect."
The movie tells the story of three very different detectives in a Hollywood soaked in sleaze and scandal. Although possessing starkly contrasting personalities, the three detectives have one very important thing in common; an unquenchable thirst for the truth. In addition to differing personalities, the three protagonists employ very different techniques in order to attain the coveted truth. Lieutenant Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), fuels a wave of disdain amongst his colleagues thanks to his sell-out approach all part of a relentless pursuit to get ahead. On the other hand, Bud White (Russell Crowe) displays great episodes of rage towards suspects etc... in order to "beat" the truth out of them. One of the films most interesting motifs is Detective White's constant struggle to control is ever-growing and virtually over-whelming feelings of rage. Last but by no means least, we have Detective Frank Vincennes (Kevin Spacey). Portrayed as a man with style, suave and elegance but at the same time, an admirable determination to be the best. He collaborates regularly with Hush-hush magazine editor Sid Hudgeons (De Vito) and attempt to throw Bud White of-course as he exploits his White's most glaring weakness, his lack of control for violence.
The three detectives become engrossed in a desperate hunt to find the culprits of a multiple murder which occurred at the Nite Owl coffee shop.
Captain Dudley Smith (James Cromewell) is responsible for some good acting, a convincing portrayal of a well-respected yet ultimately sleaze-ball of an LAPD captain, and an utterly dreadful Irish accent. Being from Ireland, it is disconcerting and frustrating to see great actors make an absolute balls of Irish accents. Daniel-Day Lewis was acceptable in "The Name Of The Father" but apart from that, Hollywood need to seriously work on their Irish accents as it is exceptionally poor.
Anyway, the film arouses a lot of interesting concepts. It is captivating in the sense that it provokes questions of who will successfully unravel the murder mystery first. The film, in a way also, let's you feel differently towards the three detectives. Personally, I hated Ed Exley, which I would believe is a very shared emotion amongst other viewers of this films and I routed for Jack Vincennes despite his scandalous and rule-bending associations with Sid Hudgeons.
Ignoring my physical disaffection's for Kim Basinger (I don't find her attractive partly thanks to all the hype I heard), she was impressive as the celebrity look-alike prostitute Lynn Bracken.
Overall, the film has very few flaws. Referring back to Cromwell's amusingly poor Irish accent of course, but it also inconsistent in it's pace and although the ending ties up all the loose-knots, it loses it's sense of style and sophistication with a mindless shoot-out. Feel free to disagree though, that's just the way I felt when I was watching it.
However, the pro's undoubtedly outweigh the con's in this neo-noir feature. The fact that IS neo-noir does make it enjoyable and a welcome change to the usual cinematography of blockbusters that are dominating the big screen. The acting is also great. The characters are interesting, scandalous and open to conflicting interpretations . I was impressed with Kevin Spacey as he is typically wonderful in his portrayal of Vincennes. Despite this, I was particularly impressed with Pearce as Exley as does a great job in making us HATE his guts but eventually splendour in his triumph. Along with this, the dialogue and chemistry is hard-worked and well adapted, as you'd expect from its Oscar nod for Adapted Screenplay.
Overall, a very enjoyable watch that engages and sustains the viewers interest throughout. 8/10