with storytelling this compelling , who needs books ?
based on the book by author james ellroy ,
l . a . confidential is probably one of the best piece of work produced by hollywood in recent years .
together with director curtis hanson ( the hand that rocks the cradle , the river wild ) whom ellroy corroborated closely throughout the shooting of the film , resulted in a movie with a plot and and script so tight , an atom would have to squeeze itself through . set in the 50s , the story revolves around 3 policemen of vivid personalities .
jack vincennes ( spacey ) is the cop who is more concerned on busting with fame and stardom ala hollywood style , concentrating heavily on work which will attract him media attention .
there is also the young hot - shot rookie , ed exley ( pearce ) , fresh out of the academy and all - out to carve a name for himself in the footsteps of his legendary cop father .
the tough and unnerving bud white ( crowe ) , a cop who believes in justice , the swift and violent way .
3 policemen , distinct in their characters and paths but all of them working in a place where there is no real distinction between good and evil .
when his partner is murdered on the day of his resignation , bud sets out to find the people responsible but unwittingly delved himself into something more than just a simple robbery murder .
even after exley receives a promotion for his work on the murder case , happenings began to link itself to the murder .
the 3 eventually reach a point of convergence when what actually began as a personal investigation turns out to be an uncovering of a complex web of organised - crime in hollywood .
the last time i remember a film so clever and compelling was when i watched the usual suspects . in l . a . confidential , you do not get the shock and cleverness as the former but it has a lot more of ` story ' going for it .
there is not a single moment in the film in which i felt was slow at all .
surprisingly , though spacey did a very convincing job as the street - wise vincennes , the movie was carried mostly by the two rather ` unknowns ' , pearce and crowe .
pearce 's exley is cool and calculative in his actions and there is a slight hint of val kilmer in his appearance .
crowe 's bud white is the most impressive of all ; head - strong and temperamental , he should obtain some sort of recognition for his work here .
superb acting .
, wonderful storytelling and one of the best climaxing gunfights ever .
easily the best hollywood piece for 1997 .
wonderful storytelling and one of the best climaxing gunfights ever easily the best hollywood piece some sort of recognition a film so clever and compelling there is not a single moment in the film in which i felt was slow at all superb acting the most impressive of all did a very convincing job head - strong and temperamental storytelling this compelling one of the best piece of work