Sometimes betrayal is the only option.

Rating: 9/10 (1 May 2006)

As a film of an unfilmable novel this is somewhat of an achievement. As a film per se it is very nearly a masterpiece. When I read "L.A. Confidential" it was my first venture into Mr James Ellroy's seriously weird world where much of the enjoyment is in the idiosyncratic writing style.I never imagined a movie could be made of the book and,of course,it hasn't been.What we have is the title,some of the characters and a severely pared down plot that bears a resemblance to the novel but fails to capture Mr Ellroy's bizarre voyage to the distant shores of obsessive sexuality."The book is mine....the movie is theirs",he said when invited to comment on the screen adaptation. So forget the novel then and watch "L.A. Confidential" THE cop movie of the 1990s.Set in the early fifties when cops were tough and the third degree was commonplace it depicts an LAPD that had become judge and jury in its own bailiwick.It's a story of loyalty and betrayal involving cops,reporters,lawyers and crooks.It's a film of extreme violence,much of it played out in the unnaturally bright and sunny L.A. hills. Mr Kevin Spacey has been lauded for his rather flashy role as Sgt Jack Vincennes but for me the performance of the movie is Mr Russell Crowe's as Bud White the not very bright but shrewd thuggish detective. He is easy meat for the manipulative Dudley Smith (Mr James Cromwell) but his Achilles Heel is a sympathy for abused women,and at the same time it is his salvation.Of all the actors in the movie only Mr Crowe looks as if he belongs in his character's clothes.Bud's sports jacket and casual trousers look suits Mr Crowe as to the manner born while the rest of the cast appear too conscious of the fact that they are wearing "1950s clothes" rather than simply clothes. There is a lot of good period detail including an appearance by Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker(the coolest of the cool) lookalikes. Everyone involved is eventually confronted with a dilemma concerning loyalty.How these interlock and how they are resolved is the key to this movie.In the end it all comes down to one question.Is betrayal ever an acceptable option?"L.A. Confidential" seems to be saying that sometimes its the only option.