As far as movies are concerned, September might be my favorite month of the year. The summer season of $100 million-budget blockbusters is over, and the crush of overly pretentious Oscar hopefuls hasn’t yet arrived. Instead, theaters are filled with interesting, different, and honest movies.
“L.A. Confidential,” a 1950’s era mystery thriller based on a book by James Ellroy, is a perfect example of September cinema.
“Confidential” features a surprisingly realistic script, convincing performances and a wonderful mystery, tossed in with a dose of fantasy that makes it trademark Hollywood.
The story revolves around three cops: Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), an image-conscious narcotics cop doing business with a well-known tabloid; Bud White (Russell Crowe), a straightforward guy who will do anything (even a murder here and there) to ensure that justice is served, and; Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), a rulebook-conscious up-and-comer who will do anything to advance.
The three barely know each other, but a series of murders and random events force them together. Mob boss Mickey Cohen (Paul Guilfoyle) is put in jail, triggering a barrage of killings, all seemingly aimed at destroying the current organized crime leadership in L.A.
The full plot would take pages to describe, but it all comes down to a couple of things. No one is ever quite who they seem, and a lot of people get killed.
The biggest challenge in this movie was making the story accessible to mass audiences. Somehow, screenwriter Brian Helgeland trimmed the more that 100 speaking parts in Ellroy’s novel to a mere 50, and managed to keep the plot at a somewhat manageable level.
Thus, the burden falls on the half-dozen main actors to keep the dialogue as understandable as possible. James Cromwell, as the head of L.A. police, Danny Devito, as the tabloid writer in cahoots with Vincennes, and Kim Basinger, as a celebrity lookalike, are just a few of the supporting parts that are indispensable to the film.
Besides a couple scenes that get excessively bloody, there is little not to like about “L.A. Confidential.” While there are no multi-million dollar special effects, the film is constantly compelling, and the suspense level never lets up, making for a nearly flawless film.
Grade: A