L.A.
Confidential is a 1997 classic with a 99% approval rating on Rotten
Tomatoes, and after seeing the movie yesterday, I now know why.
L.A.
Confidential is very captivating. The twists and turns in the movie take
you on a wild ride. At the time of its release, both Guy Pearce and Russell
Crowe were unknowns, yet they were cast as the leads, while Kevin Spacey, Kim
Basinger, and Danny DeVito were cast in supporting roles.
The movie
presents itself as a narration by Danny DeVito, who plays a newspaper writer.
It then switches gears when DeVito’s character’s status in the movie is
compromised.
The movie is
based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title. L.A. Confidential also
happens to be the third book in his L.A. Quartet series. The film is
a little different from the usual "police taking down the mafia"
script. It starts with the mafia boss already busted by the police, and every
gun-loaded gang with enough guts is trying to fill the power vacuum left behind.
The movie tells
the story of a group of LAPD officers. One, Edmund "Ed" Exley (Guy
Pearce, is the son of a legendary detective sergeant, determined to live up to
his father’s reputation and even surpass it. The other, Officer Wendell
"Bud" White (Russell Crowe), is obsessed with violently punishing
women beaters. Their paths cross when there’s an outburst in the station,
resulting in Ed being promoted to Det. Lt.
From there, a
rape case, a drug scandal, and celebrity look-alike prostitutes lead to the
plot of a new man trying to take over the mafia boss’s position.
Before filming
started, the cast and crew held a "mini-film festival," showing one
film a week. The leads (Crowe and Pearce) spent time in L.A. watching police
films and mixing with real-life police officers—all to get acquainted with life
in the 1950s and understand what being a police officer was like.
L.A.
Confidential went on to be both a critical and commercial success. It was
nominated for nine Academy Awards, but let’s remember that was the same
year Titanic (James Cameron) was released, so it had its work cut
out. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design,
Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best
Sound Mixing but lost all categories to Titanic. Regardless, it won two
Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger) and Best Writing
(Adapted Screenplay).
It’s a great film, and I know you’ll enjoy seeing it. But rent the DVD—it’s not one I think you’ll want to watch twice.
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