L.A. Confidential

Year Released: 1997

Runtime: 138 minutes

Directed: Curtis Hanson

Produced: Curtis Hanson, Brian Helgeland (both co-writers), et al.

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger

Oscars: Won: Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger), Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Set Decoration, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Score

IMDb Plot Summary: As corruption grows in 1950's Los Angeles, three policemen – one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy – investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.

Context, Context, Context: What Created L.A. Confidential, and Why it’s Still Relevant

The world before L.A. Confidential. Set in the early 1950s, L.A. Confidential was a book written in 1990 by James Ellroy as the third part of his L.A. Quartet series of fictional novels revolving around corrupt cops, celebrity culture, drugs, sex and organized crime in Los Angeles from the 1940s – 1970s. As is almost always the case, the storyline of the novel was altered slightly, but the characters, themes, and core plot points were captured brilliantly – especially the moral complexity surrounding the LAPD. An early incident in both the novel and the film that sets the characters on their individual paths is what came to be known as “Bloody Christmas”. Several Mexican Americans were severely beaten by drunken police officers inside of the LAPD station after having been arrested for attacking a pair of police officers, resulting in only minor injuries. In between the 1990 novel and 1997 film’s release, the 1991 beating of African American Rodney King by several LAPD officers following a high-speed DUI pursuit (and their later acquittal of most charges by a jury) touched off the highly destructive 1992 Los Angeles Race Riots resulting in 63 deaths, 12,000 arrests, and nearly $1 billion in property damage. The late 90’s also saw the LAPD embroiled in scandals relating to detectives confiscating then selling drugs. The LAPD and all police by extension were not necessarily viewed as the clean-cut, “to protect and serve” image they prided themselves on.

The legacy of L.A. Confidential. People look back on 1994/95 as the movie year in which Forrest Gump wrongly triumphed over both Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption; Pulp Fiction won one Oscar, Shawshank didn’t win any and Gump walked away with six. After watching this movie, you will look back on 1997/98 as the year in which Titanic wrongly won so many awards. L.A. Confidential was and remains one of “the best movies you’ve never seen”, and its spread continues to be primarily word-of-mouth, compared to ubiquitous nature of Titanic. Interestingly, this was by far the most important and successful film the director, co-writer, and co-producer Curtis Hanson ever made (his second-most being 8 Mile). It’s something of a rarity for a director to truly touch greatness in only one film of their career, and for that greatness to be this great.The dirty and brutal cops, racial tensions, celebrity culture and crooked politicians of this film continue to make a statement in 2020, despite “existing” nearly 70 years ago and being storied 30 years ago. Additionally, given the revelations about and “Cancellation” of Kevin Spacey in the last few years, his appearance in a film devoid of perfect characters who each have dirty secrets has stayed sadly relevant.

The Story and its Characters

Novel to film, a pulp noir classic. The densely plotted, twist-filled film explores the intersection of police, crime, drugs, sex, politics and race in the 50’s. The story moves forward at an almost perfect pace – every scene has meaning, drives the plot forward, uncovers new layers, demonstrates who the characters are, and raises questions the next scene answers. And yet, it never gets exhausting or too hard to follow. L.A. Confidential’s story is smart enough to assume the audience will follow along with what is revealed through action and dialogue, and the implications of each scene on the larger story. The film both embraces and updates noir tropes; Kim Basinger’s high-end Lynn is a terrific femme fatale, but she is also a woman with agency who comments on what power could truly look like for women of the era. The dialogue is snappy, brutal, and so, so addicting.

My favorite update to the noir trope is the role of Danny DeVito’s Sid Hudgens. Hudgens’ voiceover and accompanying montages present what is happening with organized crime in the background of the story, effectively setting the scene for the grimy Los Angeles we spend our time in. However, we slowly come to realize that the mysterious elimination of Mickey Cohen’s gangster lieutenants and stolen heroin these sections of the film cover come to directly play a part in the larger conspiracy of corruption our detectives investigate. In other words, the story that was being treated as the background is brought immediately into the foreground – and we hardly even notice.

The performances. Premiering 40 years after the age of film noir that this movie invokes, the acting needs to be on point or else this movie is a flop – but the whole cast is firing on all cylinders. The three leads are impeccable, and their performances give you great insight into the who the characters are as people. Within 30 minutes, you feel like you’ve worked alongside them in the LAPD and have heard the rumors circulating the locker room. Guy Pearce’s Ed Exley is every straight arrow, ambitious kid you went to school with, but his redeemable transformation into working outside the letter of the law for the sake of true justice is completely believable. Russell Crowe was introduced to American audiences in a huge way as Bud White, the tough cop with a soft spot for female victims. He and Lynne share the most quietly moving scenes of the film, demonstrating an incredible range in his character matched only by his acting talents. Speaking of, Kim Basinger’s performance as Lynne earned every bit of her Oscar win, as she both embraces and upends the traditional femme fatale into a sympathetic, complex character with both strengths and weaknesses. The supporting cast is equally capable of using not a lot of screen time to make you closely familiar with them – especially James Cromwell’s Captain Smith.

However, Kevin Spacey’s performance as Jack Vincennes is still my favorite. Without supporting who he is as a person, he unquestionably turned in some of the best performances in the last 30 years. L.A. Confidential is no exception. He brings some of the best self-loathing you’ll see on screen, and his desire to redeem himself (like Exley’s desire to discover the truth even if it undoes his career) feels sincere and is a perfect example of the complexities of this film’s characters. His character simultaneously revels in the fame and is disgusted by how he’s achieved it, and who he’s become in the process.

Technicalities

Mixing modern with classic. Curtis Hanson, when describing how the film will look and feel, reportedly told his production team to “create vividly accurate period detail, and then put it all in the background”. The effect is stunning. 1950’s Los Angeles feels like a lived-in place, and with the detail mainly occupying the background and our characters occupying the foreground, you feel like you live there with them. During some montages, the film also contains songs from the 20’s-50’s, what our characters would be listening to. The costumes are especially stylish, and function as another expression of their personality.

If there were one technical aspect that I had to choose to praise the most, it would be the camerawork. Not only does Dante Spinotti brilliantly capture this world, he also chose to shoot this film in a very modern way for the time. Slick camera moves, mirror shots and intermittent POV highlight the craftsmanship on display and accentuate the effect of bringing this world to life.

John’s Highlight Reel

· Bloody Christmas. In addition to directly referencing a little-known true event, the first 20 minutes of the film – ending in the Bloody Christmas altercation – brilliantly sets the stage for the corrupt LAPD and establishes who our three protagonists are.

· Elimination of Lieutenants. The film’s first montage, shortly after the fallout from Bloody Christmas, features a voiceover describing the deaths of some of Mickey Cohen’s lieutenants. It’s slick, cool, and somehow even a little funny; only later do we realize that this is central to the plot as well.

· The Nite Owl Crime Scene. Witnessing the bloody crime scene through the eyes of Ed Exley is suspenseful, dramatic, and brutal. It is in this moment you realize that the film you’re watching isn’t a fun send-up of 50’s movies, but a gritty, visceral crime drama. It also puts you squarely in his shoes using POV shots, making you feel like a terrified detective.

· The Interrogations. After rounding up what seem like reasonable suspects – 3 young black men who were allegedly seen shooting shotguns – Exley masterfully tricks them into thinking that they have been confessing on each other by broadcasting pieces of each conversation into the other interrogation rooms. While it feels cool and smart, there is some brilliantly realized racial tension coursing under the surface which forces the viewer to question what is so cool or smart about cops leaning on three young black men after all.

· Rescuing Inez. This is a rough scene to watch, but still an absolute highlight. After the interrogations, it was revealed that the young men had raped a woman being held in an apartment. Most of the LAPD immediately scrambles to the scene, but Captain Dudley allows White to go on the scene first. He locates the young woman and shoots the apartment’s owner who was watching TV. He then plants a taped gun on his corpse. Brilliant, hard-hitting, and relevant even today.

· Vincennes’ Remorse and Death. It’s hard to pin this into one highlight, since it accounts for about 15 minutes of the movie. There is a moment where Vincennes sits in a bar, looking at money he was given to set up the DA, and stares numbly at himself in the mirror before deciding to act justly – too late, in this instance. Later, his arc is completed as he is discussing with the police chief his activities, saying that his conscience was driving them. He is abruptly killed in one of the best sudden twists that modern movies have yet to top.

· White Confronts Exley. In some of the most ranged acting in the entire film, Bud is furious to learn that Exley and Lynne slept together (under orders). He confronts her, heartbroken and angry, and strikes her, breaking his own moral code. His fury towards Exley comes to a head in a physical altercation, but slowly he begins to understand how they were both set up. In about 10 minutes, he hits nearly every emotion in the book, and we are bought into it all.

· The Final Shoot-Out. A slightly cliché ending for a non-cliché film, the final shoot-out is still a masterclass in action. After a brilliant build-up where headlights of their would-be killers’ cars approach from multiple directions, Exley and Bud hold up in a little motel room and employ different strategies to kill the attackers. No one death is repetitive, and every moment ups the stakes as the attackers also adapt their strategies in an exhilarating 5 minutes.

Came for _____, Stayed for ______

A cool, twisty police story. When one of my friends first told me about the concept of this movie, I was sold immediately. An excellent crime thriller set in the 50’s with twists, turns, great lines and great acting. Experiencing this story is what I came for, and the film does not disappoint. It has enough moral complexity baked into it for a month of Ethics Class debates and gives no easy answers as to what’s right and what’s wrong – hard-hitting, twisty, perfection.

The story brought to life. I could not believe how much I wanted to stay in this world, full of its shady characters and double-crossing. I know it’s grimy, I know it’s not the best place to live, but it felt so real and lived in that I couldn’t get enough – narcotic, like a key element to the plot. The technical elements I called out above achieve this in a way that period pieces rarely pull off, and I would be first in line to see an equally well-crafted TV show set in this same world just to go back. This isn’t brainless pop escapism though; by entering this world, we are forced to examine our own, and don’t even realize that we’re doing it until the film is over.