superior crime thriller

Rating: Null/10 (10 November 2004)

L.A. Confidential is a rare modern classic, a film whose superior direction guides its actors and its atmosphere through fun, sleazy, and entirely enthralling plots and subplots while Jerry Goldsmith's Chinatown-esque score blares perfect tones in the background.
Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce both give performances that should've made them stars, and Kevin Spacey is characteristically perfect. Even Kim Basinger, who, before '97, had struggled through one sub-par film after another, delivers an Oscar-worthy, Oscar-winning performance in the role of the femme fatale, who is much more of a victim than she seems.
Every role is characteristic of '40s and '50s film noir, yet every character is fascinating and involving. An excellent film noir that redefines the genre decades later through use of bright lighting and grand storytelling. Highly recommended.