Masterpiece #1 LA Confidential
“Don’t start trying to do the right thing, boy-o. You haven’t the practice.”
There are not many films where I would use the word ‘perfect’, but LA Confidential seems to scream for that tag somehow. Everything, from the costumes to the soundtrack, the casting to the dialogue, and the way the plot clicks into place is so ‘right’ that watching and re-watching is simply a pleasure and you somehow feel better for it. It’s a nourishing movie experience. This is despite the unsympathetic characters, the labyrinthine plot (which demands the aforementioned re-watching), the brutal violence and a general mood of sombreness. The sheer quality of the film shines through and makes it effortlessly enjoyable, in a way that is similar to, say, ‘The Godfather’. That’s not to say there isn’t humour, such as the interrogation of District Attorney Loew (“Call him off me, Exley!” “I don’t know how.”)
It is easy to say that LA was robbed at the Oscars by the Titanic juggernaut and safe to say, it was. But with a film this good, awards hardly seem relevant. You have to bear in mind that not Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey or James Cromwell was nominated for their stellar performances. If not one of them was acknowledged as being award-worthy, then there’s something wrong with the awards.
Guy Pearce as Ed Exley is, in theory, the ‘hero’. He’s a good cop with principles, ability and ambition. When we first meet him, he’s on the rise, maybe not too popular around the department, but sure to have a good career. Ed’s determined to do the job the right way, as evidenced by his ‘pep talk’ with Cromwell’s Captain Dudley Smith. At this point his ambitions might suffer because of his morals, but that won’t last. The events of the film and his progress within the police department will bring out his worst qualities, until we see the peeling layers of his own gradual corruption and the bubble of his priggish self-righteousness is burst. Pearce isn’t exactly likeable or unlikeable in his performance, but instead gives a portrayal of a fully human character, with many deep flaws, but also brains and ability as a detective.
Russell Crowe here set his career on a path right to the top with his Bud White. At first glance, he’s a one-dimension thug-cop, a bruiser used by Dudley Smith to keep the bad guys in line by being even worse. As Exley becomes evermore corrupted by the Nite Owl case and its connection to Fleur de Lis, White slowly becomes more moral (if that’s the right word), first through his tender relationship with the prostitute Lynn (Kim Basinger), with whom he can reveal himself emotionally (his motivations and character are all-too-understandable given his past), and then through his desire to become a real detective and not merely a tool for violence. White and Exley’s eventual teamwork is what solves the case and it’s only through the combination of their better selves that this is possible, White striving to be a better man and Exley knowing that what he has become is beneath him.
Bud White: The Nite Owl case made you. Do you want to tear all that down?
Ed Exley: With a wrecking ball… You want to help me swing it?
Kevin Spacey arguably steals the show as Jack Vincennes (“Hollywood Jack”, “The Big V”), the deliberately shallow man with the glamour and the flash, who looks inside himself and still doesn’t find much depth. He does, however, find enough conscience to try and solve the case (as well as get himself back involved in his real passion, advising on a television show) and he pays the price for this, although you could argue justice is done. His murder is the moment of the film, the gasp-inducing shock that shows that we aren’t playing anymore. I simply would not believe anyone who claimed they saw this coming the first time they watched the film. A truly great twist, so good in fact, it was stolen and used in ‘Minority Report’, another one of my absolute favourites. Spacey as Vincennes is as good as he’s ever been and nails a hundred tiny moments, from his impression of Smith (“just keepin’ the streets safe boys”) to staring at himself and his bribe money when he’s realised the consequences of his actions.
Kim Basinger was rewarded with an Oscar for her performance and while it would be unfair to claim that she didn’t deserve it (for what is her best performance by a distance), I can’t help but feel it was also a nod to the whole ensemble. Lynn Bracken is the most clichéd role, the “tart with a heart”, but Basinger does well within this constraint to find the woman who is honest about herself and her job and able to see the same honesty and decency in Bud (and the corruption in Ed).
The plot is far too complex and detailed to go into properly here. Suffice to say, the more you watch the film, the more rewarding it is. I’m glad I read the novel afterwards as it filled in some useful backstory and gave me a greater understanding of the film, even though there are some major differences. The film and the book can stand separately but complement each other – the only other case I’ve found of this happening was with ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. The plot is set in motion by the events of ‘Bloody Christmas’ (the vicious beating of some Mexican suspects) and does not let up from there. Violence, murder, deception and sex. It’s all here. Off the record, on the QT and very hush-hush.
LA Confidential is one of those happy accidents, where an unfilmable novel was adapted by an untested screenwriter and a seemingly hack director, cast with unknown leads in a thoughtful, intricate period-piece and yet the result is staggering. Beautiful to look at (and listen to), expertly played by all and full of quotable dialogue and great sequences (Exley’s interrogation of the Nite Owl suspects, Exley vs White, Exley and White vs Loew, the Motel showdown). However, despite obvious highlights, every scene is vital, not just in being relevant to the action, but also by being alive with drama and oozing with style. In short, a masterpiece.
