seeingbystarlight L.A. Confidential revolves around three cops:Officer Bud White (Russell Crowe) who, as a child saw his mother beaten to death, and has been trying to avenge her ever since, as well as engaging in some illegal activities he feels bad about but can't escape.Sargeant Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) who's father served on the Force before him, and was killed in the line of duty. Ed's dream is to measure up to his father, but his self-righteous naivete proves to be a serious drawback.And finally, to quote yellow journalism, Celebrity Crime Stopper Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), who, aside from his job, lives for being the technical advisor on Badge Of Honor (a popular television series which shows L.A cops "walking on water as they keep the streets clean of crooks").All three men have their differences, and none of them get along, until a shooting at a diner called The Night Owl drives them to ultimately join forces, as they dig deeper into a case which grows darker, and more treacherous the more they investigate it...And with the digging, come the other characters into the story.There's Captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) who -by all appearances- is a pillar of integrity, but has secrets of his own to keep.There's D.A. Ellis Loew (Ron Rifkin), who has bad appetites to keep under wraps.And the wealthy Pierce Patchett (David Strathairn) who runs the very illicit Fleur De Lis: Whatever You Desire.Then, there's the beautiful Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger) who belongs to a group of high class call girls cut to look like movie stars, and who steals the audience's heart away when, upon first seeing Bud White, immediately pegs him as a Police Officer."Is it that obvious?" Bud White asks. "It's practically stamped on your forehead." she replies.All of them are being watched like hawks by Sid Hudgens (Danny DeVito) a tabloid reporter who loves to uncover dirt, and has recruited Jack Vincennes to help him do it.I have not had the privilege of reading James Ellroy's novel but I can say without hesitating that this movie does it justice.Everything is impeccable, from the dialogue, to the settings, to the soundtrack.Kim Basinger deserves her Oscar. And these are great roles for the lead actors (especially Guy Pearce who stars in the best role I've ever seen him in).Kevin Spacey, and James Cromwell add tremendously also, but it is Danny DeVito with his blithely amoral outlook on life who is the shining star of the supporting cast, kicking off one of the best opening scenes ever put into a movie, and adding levity to the story, as he digs relentlessly for the dirt..."Off the record. On the q.t. And very...HUSH-HUSH!"Originally, Review #80

FairlyAnonymous I want to say that L.A. Confidential is a movie that I (somehow) had never heard of nor had any interest in seeing. I'm pretty sure I had seen the poster before, but that was all I knew of it. So even though I am reviewing this movie 20 years after its release, I have not had the plot spoiled to me (though I'm sure I've seen movie that were influenced by it). I'm going to try and avoid spending too much time on the positives of this film because I think there are some pretty glaring issues with this film that have gone unnoticed.That being said, the vast majority of this film is a blast to watch. Most of the characters are very interesting, unique, and well thought out which was probably the most important aspect of the film to get right (next to the story). Exley was my personal favorite because you could tell he genuinely cared about justice and keeping the law in order. He wins his fights by being smarter than everyone else and this makes him an interesting character. The main mystery of the movie is a little incoherent at times, but it was still rather engaging for me and I was invested in seeing where it would go. The strongest elements of this movie have to be the action and the character interaction. Almost all of the dialogue is sharp and entertaining to watch. Now, onto the aspects of this film that I thought almost broke it: Bud White... my goodness is this character hard to watch. Russel Crowe does a great job portraying him, so it is not the fault of the actor, but the character himself is insufferable. Granted, my view on this is probably different than those who saw this movie in the 90s because the whole political climate as of late is different, but this guy is just an awful "white knight". Essentially, he is a ball of murderous rage 24/7 and is constantly looking for an excuse to save women who don't need saving. Oh, there is a woman with several men, how about I go over there and beat them up and then figure out if there is an issue. What makes him even worse is that he breaks the law and even plants evidence/lies on multiple occasions just to satisfy himself. For example, why didn't he tell the woman that there was a dead body under he house? It turns out that his reason for being a murderous killing machine against anyone who mistreats women is because his mom was abused to the point of death and he had to watch. Great, that kind of makes sense, but it doesn't excuse him pulling guns on people, starting fights, and grabbing people's crotches to torture them.Now, this is just one character, but unfortunately his "romantic subplot" is another big issue with this film.The romance in this movie sucks. It just does. It doesn't feel natural and it is entirely forced. Bud White somehow falls in love with a prostitute, but it is never explained WHY they fall in love. For instance, the prostitute says really cliche stupid stuff like, "You're special" or "you're different" but the only thing different about him is that "he doesn't hide his emotions" which is an incredibly stupid line because she HAS NEVER INTERACTED WITH HIM OUTSIDE OF HER HOUSE (except for them going to the movie on an occasion). Their romance is so forced that I was legitimately surprised when they started to make out, because there was no build-up to it.Fine, one bad romantic relationship, but this movie has TWO! WITH THE SAME GIRL!Exley goes to the prostitutes house to investigate her because he thinks the relationship between her and Bud White is false and that she was paid off to do it... and then he rapes/has sex with her?!?!?! It's really confusing because he has been established to be the brains of the team and is vastly smarter than everyone else, yet when he is prying for information from someone who he think is manipulating them he then decides to have sex with that said person and assumes that he is not being manipulated... by a prostitute.Really. A prostitute manipulating someone into sex? THAT IS LITERALLY THE FIRST THING THAT SHOULD COME INTO HIS MIND! What makes this plot point even worse is that it was a set-up and now Bud White tries to murder Exley in an attempt to get back at him for having sex with HIS prostitute (again, she is a prostitute. She is having sex with tons of people. Chillax). What makes things really odd is that the other cops in station don't seem to mind the fact that Bud White is murdering Exley? Someone walks into the room, Bud White pushes them out, and then no other cops investigate. Seriously? Long story short, all of this was the bad guy's plan (who was quite obviously the bad guy from the moment we saw him, so it wasn't really a plot-twist). The final action sequence was fantastic and really well set-up, and it was nice to see Exley and Bud White work together instead of at each other's throats. While I did enjoy the villain, his plan was super contrived and required a myriad of coincidences to actually work. Again, it's just a movie, but it is a little troublesome.The main theme of this movie seems to be that following the law completely doesn't always work but breaking the law constantly for the sake of justice isn't the best either. It's a compromise movie. However, the issue with this is that Exley pretty much got everything he wanted through brains and I don't think that he ever really needed Bud White... at all. I honestly can't think of a situation where Bud White's viciousness got him something that he couldn't have gotten himself. On the other end, I don't think Bud White ever learned to not be vicious. The only thing he possibly learned was to maybe not let his emotions get the best of him because he nearly killed Exley (and he hits the prostitute which makes him like his father), but then he goes back to being a psychopath right after that so I don't think he learned anything. This is a fairly big issue with the movie's message, because it doesn't really work. None of the characters (who are alive by the end of the movie) really change except for Exley, who allows more illegal activity to happen... yay?While I think the vast majority of this film is great, I think the biggest issue this movie has is the character drama and the movie's message. The character drama feels so forced and fake that I almost stopped watching the movie because I realized that the established traits of the characters didn't ultimately matter. Anyone could break character to make the plot go in a certain direction, which then cuts out any real sense of tension.Good movie, great acting, great action, okay mystery, bad drama, awful romance. That's my take on it, at least.

The Movie Diorama Well, I wasn't expecting that! I went in thinking it would be an overlong stylised drama with one or two scenes of detective work. Quite the reverse actually, it's entirety was an unsolved case. Three separate officers, each with their own motives, investigate separate aspects to a case which eventually interlink with each other. Let me just whip out the old crime checklist: Shootouts? Check. Detective work? Check. Corruption? Check. A plethora of twists and turns? Most definitely. The latter is what truly separates this from other similar crime stories, there are so many twists that are naturally executed. There isn't one moment where I thought "Oh, that was a coincidence!". All of these characters are fleshed out, each with a contrasting personality, where any decisions that are made just feel right. A serious straight rookie quickly climbing the ranks utilising his intellect. A tempered brute using his physicality to progress with the case. Then you have the suave experienced officer who uses his connections to get answers. Individually they work excellently, but as a unit? Even better. It plays out brilliantly because of Hanson's direction. Refreshingly switching between these officers and showcasing the 1950's L.A. lifestyle, he managed to create an environment that lives and breathes crime. One of the best casts I've seen from a 90's film. Crowe, Spacey, Cromwell and Pearce (arguably my favourite role of his) all brought grit and emotional captivation to their roles. The script is densely compact with development and taut pacing, although occasionally does dip. I did find Strathairn's character underused and didn't add much to the story. However, the focus is on the case, naturally including character development and thrills to make an outstanding crime thriller. I suspect this will eventually gain the perfect rating.

TheLittleSongbird As a fan of mysteries and thrillers and who likes a lot of the cast (such a great one on paper), expectations were high for 'LA Confidential'. And 'LA Confidential' didn't disappoint at all, it is an outstanding film on all levels and should have won the Best Picture Oscar of 1997 and won more.Visually, 'LA Confidential' looks great. The photography is both audacious and stylish, suitably the story and genre superlatively. A good music score also helps and there is an appropriately haunting one courtesy of one of the greatest film composers ever. Curtis Hansen directs superbly, it has a lot of style and how it balances everything is so cleverly done, he hasn't made a better film and to me it's the best directing of his entire career.'LA Confidental' richly deserved its Best Screenplay Oscar. No other film that year came close to the film's rich character development, complexity and its refusal to fall into cliché territory. All the characters are compelling in their realism and none of them feel stereotypical or one-sided, actually breaking the mould of good cops and bad villains. The story is gripping in its intensity and thrills, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and very rare a dull moment.The acting is exceptionally full-blooded and there isn't a single weak link. How Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey weren't nominated for Oscars is unfathomable. Spacey in particular is brilliant, though Crowe is appropriately hard-nosed and Pearce has rarely been better.James Cromwell and Danny De Vito also shine. Cromwell is chillingly insidious and De Vito has never been slimier. Whether Kim Basinger deserved her Oscar win is up for debate, to me it was a very worthy win where she gives her role hard edge and charm.In conclusion, superb film-making and an outstanding film on all levels. 10/10 Bethany Cox