Tags
1990's, Crime, Curtis Hanson, Danny DeVito, Drama, Film Noir, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, James Ellroy, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential, Neo Noir, Russell Crowe
Film Title
L.A. Confidential
Director
Curtis Hanson
Cast
- Kevin Spacey as Det. Sgt. Jack Vincennes
- Russell Crowe as Officer Wendell “Bud ” White
- Guy Pearce as Det. Lt. Edmund “Ed” Exley
- James Cromwell as Capt. Dudley Smith
- Kim Basinger as Lynn Bracken
- Danny DeVito as Sid Hudgens
Based on the novel by James Ellroy and boasting an excellent ensemble cast, L.A. Confidential takes the viewer on an intricate journey into the 50’s, exposing corruption and murder beneath the veneer of glamour and bright lights along the way. Director Curtis Hanson has fashioned an elegant, brutal and thoroughly convincing neo noir that grips you with its labyrinthine plot, excellent jazz score and perfect feel for the time.
The main focus of the film is three members of the Los Angeles Police Department; suave and confident Jack Vincennes who enjoys the limelight in Hollywood, Bud White, whose violent and hot-headed antics often clash with others and intelligent upstart Ed Exley, who does everything by the book and longs to be just as good as his late father. The paths of the three men first cross at a Christmas Party, in which prisoners and police begin brawling in the cells and the paparazzi have a field day with the story, dubbing it “Bloody Christmas”. After a massacre at a restaurant named the Nite Owl, in which one of the men’s fellow officers is killed, the men are drawn together again in order to solve the case.This case leads them through many twists and turns involving corruption within the police force, the scandal loving magazine “Hush Hush”, a prostitution ring in which the women are made to resemble movie stars, drug dealing and long-buried secrets.
The pacing of the film is magnificent, slowly revealing and concealing things to keep the viewer guessing what will happen next. The cast assembled add immeasurable impact to the story as it gradually unravels before us. Spacey is excellent as the limelight loving Jack, adding humour and impact in his scenes. Guy Pearce is well-suited to his part of the determined Exley, who is driven to succeed whilst being ostracized by his peers. Russell Crowe makes an indelible mark as the violent and troubled Bud, getting under the skin of him and revealing a rarely shown sensitive side to his character. As a prostitute who is the spitting image of Veronica Lake and caught up in the ongoing investigation, Oscar-winning Kim Basinger adds both glamour and poignancy, especially as she and Bud begin to develop feeling for each other whilst he is working on the dangerous case.
Aided by stunning cinematography and an evocative jazz score, Los Angeles almost becomes another character within the film.It becomes a hot bed of Hollywood high glamour, scandal loving people and deception round every corner. The humorous and barbed opening narration by Danny DeVito’s dirt loving tabloid journalist, in which footage from old movies and grainy paper headlines about drugs and illegal activities is shown while he speaks, clearly sums up this dichotomy of the place.
If you’re looking for a crime film with a noir sensibility and more twists than a winding serpent, then look no further than L.A. Confidential. Trust me you can’t go wrong with this excellent film.
Nice review of a great film. This is an undeniable classic and I think this should have taken Best Picture from Titanic.
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Thanks for the comment, I agree with you about the best picture situation.
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Solid review Vinnie! Great film and an awesome cast!
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Thanks, it certainly has one of the best casts I’ve seen.
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I do really like this film as an examples of traditional story-telling with complex characters, clever twists and a wonderfully sumptuous look. However my admiration is not without reservation, most notably with regards to the ending – the script changes the not quite considrably but for the most part works on its own terms very well – I wish the finale had not been quite so pat – in my mind it ends at the motel. Nice write-up Vinnieh, very QT!
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Thanks for your comment man.
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I can’t believe that I haven’t watched this yet. I think I’ll have to watch it sometime this week.
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Thanks, I hope you find the time to see this one.
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Good review Vinni. I didn’t love this movie, but it was still pretty awesome and the differences between Pearce’s and Crowe’s character was really great to see, and very smart for a flick like this. Wish there were more decisions like that in this movie, but hey, at least it was entertaining.
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Thanks, I agree about the differences in characters being interesting to watch.
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Fantastic review. Glad you loved LA Confidential as much as I do and most people really.
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Thanks, it certainly is a well made film.
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Great piece mate, awesome film.
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Thanks for your comment, appreciate it.
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I can’t think of a bad thing to say about this film. nice write up
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Thanks, yeah it is hard thinking of something bad to say because it’s such an excellent film.
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Great review; I love this one. One of my favorites.
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Thanks for the comment, totally agree with you.
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Great review of one of my favourites Vinnie. Glad to hear that you enjoyed this. I was a big fan of Ellroy’s book and I’d love it if they adapted the other three of his L.A. quartet.
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Thanks for the comment, glad I did it justice with this review.
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Great review. One of my fave films, so it’s nice to see someone review it with the same passion that I had for the film.
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Thanks for your comment man, glad you enjoyed reading it.
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Great review. it’s descriptive and intriguing without giving anything away, well done = ) I’ll definitely need to catch up with this one soon!
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Thanks for your comment, hope you get round to seeing this one soon.
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Nice review! I loved the plot twists and turns. The characters were great– especially Danny DeVito’s role. What an exciting, sensual film. This was during the Kevin Spacey run where every film he starred in was hot hot hot.
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Thanks, yeah I loved the characters and many twists as well.
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Prob in my top 20
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Definitely a gorgeously well crafted movie.
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