L.A. Confidential Review

L.A. Confidential

By

Peter Foy

Ah, Los Angelas in the fifties. The glamour, the bright lights, the films, the women, the celebrities…all these things gave L.A. its subtitle of City of Angels. It seemed like paradise on earth, but as Danny Devito’s journalist character explains to the viewers at the beginning, there is a dark and heinous underworld to the place. Prostitution, dope dealing, murder, racism, and most notably police corruption all take place amidst the headlines of fame and fortune. Apparently the fifties were not as nifty as we thought they were.

L.A. Confidential is quite simply a love letter to the noir genre. It contains almost all the hallmarks such as a twisting plot, a gorgeous (yet mysterious) dame, an ensemble cast, gritty violence and the top-notch filmmaking we’ve all come to love from movies like these. While today, neo-noir films like Sin City and Gone Baby Gone incorporate both new and old aesthetics, L.A. Confidential strictly sticks to the good old classic stuff. In other words, don’t expect shurikan throwing prostitutes, or hip-hop music here.

As in many other noir films, the film doesn’t really have one main character, and instead has an extensive and colorful ensemble cast. The most pivotal of which are a trio of police officers. First we have Edmund Exley (Guy Pierce), a highly intelligent officer who’s only flaw is he plays by the rules. Next is Wendell “Bud” White (Russel Crowe), a tough guy with a heart of gold that won’t hesitate to cross the boundaries of the law if he has to. Lastly, we have Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), who enjoys his time in the media limelight as both a technical advisor on a hit TV show, and as a publicized arrester of celebrities. The cast also includes a beautiful call girl (Kim Basinger), a tabloid journalist (Danny DeDevito), and the LAPD’s corrupt Chief of Detectives (James Cromwell).

The complex plot revolves around the exploits of these main characters after a bloody cafÐ"© massacre occurs. The three cops soon discover that their cases are related and a sinister force is pulling the strings. In true noir fashion, nothing is as it seems here and no one can be trusted. Viewers are urged to craft their own theories and speculations until the climactic shootout (one of the best action scenes ever). While some areas of the movie are predictable, for the most part L.A. Confidential is ingenious in its storyline.

Similar to films like Taxi Driver and Chinatown, the setting plays just as important a part here as any of the other features. The Los Angelas this film conveys is both stunningly brilliant, yet