Fabulous casting

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 1999)

As an Australian there was nothing more pleasing than watching L.A. Confidential and seeing two fine Australian actors doing their best. Russel Crowe has been around for ages and has played a neo-nazi skinhead in Romper Stomper (the movie that was the inspiration for the recent American History X), a jackeroo(something similar to a cowboy), a gay builder, also the pyscho computer creation in Virtuosity. It shows he has a huge range and is capable of the tough guy and also the soft guy both of these talents which were utilized superbly in this movie, in fact not being biased in any way I thought he gave easily the best performance of the movie and was unlucky not to see more recognition for this.
There was also Guy Pearce who greatly shocked me in this movie, his acting credits include the soapie Neighbours and then a dud movie Dating the Enemy, as well as his role in The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Up until L.A. I had been less than impressed by his acting but in this movie he just blew me away. In particular the interrogation scene which was one of the highlights of the movie.
The reason why I enjoyed this movie is that they chose actors who suited their roles from the book, and did not change them to make a star vehicle (for example the gross corruption of the book Just Cause when turned into a movie which was destroyed by grave casting errors as well as some terrible direction), it gave this film an integrity that is so lacking from most Hollywood movies