FILM REVIEW: “L.A. Confidential” is a modernised film-noir crime film that is easily one of the best films to come out of the genre, if not films in general. Unusually for a Hollywood film, it has a dense plot with multiple characters that will keep you enthralled through their exploits as the plot starts with a murder and slowly becomes something much more. Although obviously streamlined from James Ellroy‘s very complicated and dense crime novel, the essence of the detail is still readily apparent as the film tells the story of policemen Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), Bud White (Russell Crowe) and Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) as they are drawn in to a plot of organised crime that has multiple layers and depth that unfold slowly throughout the story. Director Curtis Hanson and screenwriter Brian Helgeland have crafted a rich, intelligent, good-looking and uncompromising film that satisfies on practically every level.
The film opens with a prologue-type voice over by tabloid journalist Sid Hutchens (a perfectly cast Danny DeVito) who quickly highlights the story of L.A. mob boss Mickey Cohen who ran the organised crime circuit in L.A. In a satirical tip of the hat to Al Capone, Cohen is jailed for failing to pay income tax, and L.A. suddenly has an opening for a new mob boss to step in its place. As Hutchens states, “it won’t be long before someone with balls of brass tries to fill it.” This sequence sets up the period aspect of the film perfectly, involving you in a world of simultaneously glamour, dreams and ugliness that typifies the Hollywood Dream.
Unspooling in the first half hour is the setup for the multiple characters in the film. Russell Crowe has a gem of an opening scene as the brutal policeman Bud White, when he witnesses a recently released felon beating up on his wife and his subsequent way of dealing with it by asserting his brutal nature on said felon. Kevin Spacey is introduced as Jack Vincennes, the Hollywood cop who is the technical advisor to a television police show, conveying a very Dean Martin-like quality. Guy Pearce is introduced as Ed Exley, the watch commander at Hollywood station on Christmas Eve who is unable to stop a bunch of out of control and drunk cops beating up some Mexicans who they blame for injuring two of their own. In these scenes, Exley’s desire to do things by the book is evident, but Pearce also shows a selfish ambitious streak in the character that will become more evident as the film plays out. Other characters such as Captain Dudley Smith (a very strong James Cromwell) and high-class hooker Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger) are also introduced. These introductory scenes are important for the foundation of the story by setting up the world and how opposed these characters are to each other; drama is in essence conflict, and this film has plenty of it once this setup is done. The acting is so well done in these scenes that you hardly notice that more than thirty minutes pass before the plot actually kicks in to gear.
One of the crucial elements of this film is its brutality, which is exemplified in the scene where Exley is the first cop on the scene of the Night Owl Massacre. Every one in the Night Owl coffee shop is brutally murdered, and the piles of dead bodies are displayed to highlight the impact this crime has on Exley and the other characters. From there, the plot really kicks in to gear. Both Exley and White begin their own investigations; the former to enhance his career as a detective, and the latter to find out what happened to his partner Dick Stensland who died in the Night Owl killings. Before long, Jack Vincennes finds himself brought in to the picture when an interest of his becomes tied in to the investigation. As these men move forward, they discover that not all is what it seems, and while they start out in opposition, they eventually come together to solve the Night Owl Killings with a just outcome. As they progress, a world of police corruption, racketeering, prostitution and drug trafficking are all revealed, leading to a climactic show down which eventually sees them come out on top but in the process changing their innate characters forever.
Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce are the standout actors in this film, even though the rest of the cast is excellent. They were unknown at the time and they carry the film so effortlessly that you cannot help but be swept up in their respective characters’ plight. Kevin Spacey is excellent as Hollywood Jack Vincennes, portraying a veinness and vulnerability to the character as he realises that he has compromised his ideals to live the ego-fuelled Hollywood dream. Kim Basinger is highly effective as the only female lead in the film, offering an old Hollywood charm to the film in her subdued, cynical and movie-star like character. Danny DeVito is clearly having fun with his ruthless tabloid journalist Sid Hutchens who has no issue with setting up stars or even up-and-comers in scandals in order to sell copies of his magazine. And overseeing all of them is James Cromwell, playing the very tough police captain Dudley Smith with a ruthless and tricky demeanor.
The look of the film is fabulous. Although it was not shot strictly as a film noir with highly stylised shadows and the like, the film has an authentic period feel to it that, accompanied by the soundtrack, makes you feel like you are watching a high-class noir film even though it does not particularly look like one most of the time. Director Hanson does not shy away from showing the brutality and cynicism inherent in the piece, from death scenes galore to bitter character moments as they try to navigate the harsh world at the heart of the City of Angels.
“L.A. Confidential” is one of the best crime films ever made, providing a rich, multi-layered story with fascinating performances and strong production values.
TECHNICAL REVIEW: The film has been given a very decent transfer. The video faithfully represents the original images although there are moments of softness and film artefacts/scratches in certain places during the film. The soundtrack really shines, and is very clear, crisp and vibrant, recreating the film noir atmosphere of the film, from the smallest details, to the big gun fights and action scenes which reverberate throughout the surround channels. A very good transfer.
EXTRAS REVIEW: The extras on this DVD consist of three video featurettes which given a brief, but good insight in to the making of the film, a vast number of text based stills going through cast-crew biographies, and an unusual featurette called “The L.A. of L.A. Confidential” which is an elaborate map which gives details on the various locations and places the film travels through. The video featurettes are the best aspect of the extras package. The first is a dedicated making-of documentary which provides some interesting insights, including tidbits such as producer Arnon Milchan’s joke about casting two unknown Australians in the lead roles of an American period piece, the use of period photographs by director Hanson to convince Milchan to back the movie rather than the script, the breaking of lighting tradition for what is to be used for a film noir piece and the unusual nature of the production as it balanced itself between being an indie flick and a studio film. The second featurette is Hanson’s photo pitch to Milchan where he goes through each of the photographs he selected and how they would help to explain the vision of the film he wanted to make. The third featurette is on Jerry Goldsmith, the film’s music composer who, as Hanson describes, needed to find a way to compose music that would fit in with the period songs he had already selected to be in the film. Overall, the extras package is a nice complement to the main feature but is not particularly extensive.
BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.
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