Intertwining the stories and cases of three LA Cops while
also managing to focus on both the glamour and seedier side of 1950s L.A., L.A.
Confidential is a fantastic and gripping neo-Noir thriller set towards the
end of Hollywood’s
Golden Age. With Micky Cohen in jail, L.A.
finds itself free of Organised Crime and the LAPD wants to keep it that way. On
the front line are three very different Detectives; the brutish Bud White
(Russell Crowe), book smart and career orientated Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) and
Jack ‘Hollywood Jack’ Vincennes (Kevin Spacey). The three inhabit different
worlds within the same department and a run in between White and Exley causes
mass tension amongst the whole of the force. A murder at the Night Owl Café one
evening sparks an investigation which involves all three officers, corruption,
racism, organised crime, prostitution, glitz, glamour and grime.
I saw L.A.
Confidential several years ago and it didn’t really have an impact on me. I
can only assume I saw it too young because yesterday I saw it again and thought
it was spectacular. Director Curtis Hansen and Cinematographer Dante Spinotti
create a realistic version of L.A. full of bright, soft light and period detail
but the film avoids going for an all out Noir feel and incorporates more of a
modern feel in amongst its 50s setting. The setting and fantastic design are a
mere backdrop however for what is essentially a character study. The film may
look beautiful but it is in its characters where it truly shines.
