it is an understood passion and an understood calm .
bud white walks into the home of lynn bracken , a prostitute " cut to look like veronica lake .
"
he 's one of l .
a . 's
finest investigating the murder of fellow cop , and one of the leads takes him to her home .
it 's understood that he is quiet thunder , a guy who 's calm voice is more powerful than his arms .
it 's understood that she 's supposed to be beautiful , but underneath her face is pain and scraped out lines that say her life could have been so much more .
you know without having to be told .
"
you 're the first guy who has n't told me i look like veronicca lake in under a minute , " she says .
"
you look ten times better .
"
he says it without thinking .
like he knows without her having to say anything .
white 's face does n't turn , it does n't blush .
you see his eyes , and you believe him .
it 's a perfect moment in a near perfect movie .
l .
a . confidential is the best movie of the year .
it is grace and poetry ; a richly layered work of pure entertainment .
it is a portrait of police and morality as it works it 's way through characters that are so real on screen that you believe that they might have a soul .
in a phrase , it is everything .
it is funny , it is exciting , has enough action and adventure and mystery and grace and suspense .
it is the pinnacle of a movie , a complete work , a flawless film .
it 's hard to tell you about the plot , because it 's about so much more than plot .
besides , there 's too much to describe .
sure , it 's about police and searching for corruption and who fights for the right reasons and the definition of justice .
but it 's also about what you feel when you look into the eyes of the characters in the film .
director curtis hanson has perfectly framed each character , letting you see into them , rooting for them one moment , doubting them the next .
the actors work with their lines , but in this movie their most important weapon is their eyes .
you can tell what each person is feeling just by looking into their eyes for one moment .
russell crowe plays bud white , a muscle cop with a beef for wife beaters .
his movements are fierce .
when he strikes , you jump , when he 's calm , you know it wo n't be for long .
his intensity oozes out of the screen .
you follow his character through the movie afraid of him , but in sympathy of him , because you know how good his heart is .
he 's looking for a way to solve crimes , you 're just never sure how he 's going to do it .
his counter is ed exley , played with a chisselled face by guy pierce .
you feel for him , for his character , because of all the cops in the movie he 's the one that 's actually trying to do the right thing by going by the book .
you know that he must face the reality of breaking the book , and you love the way he gets there .
i 've seen l .
a confidential twice , immediately after it was over , i wanted to hit the rewind button and watch it again .
i did n't want the theater experience to end .
it 's been a long time since i actually experienced a movie , feeling like i got something after i walked out .
that 's why i love movies ; the great ones can be too rich and powerful to describe .
watch l .
a . confidential : after you leave the theater , you feel like you just watched a classic movie
.
that 's why la confidential stands as the best movie of the year .
l .
a . confidential ( directed by curtis hanson .
starring russell crowe , guy pierce , kevin spacey , james cromwell , and kim basinger .
grace and poetry the best movie of the year the pinnacle of a movie , a complete work , a flawless film stands as the best movie of the year it is funny , it is exciting , has enough action and adventure and mystery and grace and suspense a perfect moment in a near perfect movie his intensity oozes out of the screen you feel like you just watched a classic movie a richly layered work of pure entertainment perfectly framed each character