L.A. Confidential (1997)

Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Guy Pierce, Russell Crowe

*****

L.A. Confidential is another one of those movies that's so good I feel like its unfair to all the other movies that I review. As my most recent viewing of the film came to and end I started thinking about what makes this movie so good and also, how is it so good, but not as good as the select few I consider better? The answer is simple of course in that its just a different kind of movie than say The Apartment, or Jaws or Magnolia. L.A. Confidential is one of the best movies of its kind therefore it joins the likes of Double Indemnity, Seven and The Departed. That's good company.

Guy Pierce has somewhat of an underrated reputation and I think the roles he chooses should be commended as much as the performances he gives. He plays Edmond Exley, perhaps the only completely clean cop in the Los Angeles Police Department. Everyone else has their alterior motives, payoffs and extracurricular activities. This includes Bud White, who has a reputation for being a bruiser and a protector of abused women. Jack Vincennes spends his spare time consulting for Badge of Honor and his work time getting payoffs from Sid Hudgens from Hush Hush magazine in return for good stories on hot busts.

Nothing is really as it seems in Los Angeles and the way all of these characters deal with this is what makes this story so suspenseful and intriguing. In a way, its an ensemble piece as each event effects each character in some way or another. That in turn effects everyone else. What keeps this from becoming a routine cop movie is its ability to take a pretty complex story and do two things successfully. All while keeping its audience guessing, the structure prevents them from becoming confused. Additionally, without giving anything away, nothing is too far fetched, everything both believable and plausible.

Something else that keeps this film from being average is the brilliant casting and the great performances that come as a result. I mentioned how great Pierce is. Russell Crowe turns in one of his most sympathetic performances which says a lot given his characters brutal reputation. Kevin Spacey turns in easily one of his top five performances. Despite his on again, off again Irish accent (which I'm certain, despite what anyone says, is directly referenced to in Changeling by Jeffrey Donovan who plays a high ranking corrupt Los Angeles police officer) James Cromwell's performance as Captain Dudley Smith could be the most memorable of all of them. Interestingly enough, Kim Basinger won the best supporting actress award and I think she was the least deserving of an award. Not to say she wasn't good. She too was very sympathetic but her personality mixed with the sad story surrounding the character almost made her a bit too cheesy for lack of a better term. Lastly, Danny DeVito who never ceases to amaze me with his acting chops is brilliant. Perhaps the best performance in the film, although I can't say that with absolute certainty because everyone is so good but DeVito is just sleezy, smart, funny and innocent all at the same time.

The in-depth story, the strong performances and the overall brilliance of this film speak for itself and because of that, and my not wanting to tell the whole story leave me in the position to cut this review short. For anyone who has seen this movie you know that everything is suspect, everyone's for sale and nothing is as it seems. For anyone who hasn't seen this film its better that this review remain off the record, on the QT and very hush hush...