*ing : Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger
Directed by : Curtis Hanson
Once in a while a movie comes along which is old-fashioned in its treatment but doubly effective and it provides an irresistible treat for cinema lovers like me.
Director Curtis Hanson expertly adapts James Ellroy's novel and Brian Hegeland's screenplay based in the 50's Los Angeles, a city which is rife with corruption and racism. The story centers around three cops who have their own style and means to solve crimes.
Jack Vincennes(Kevin Spacey) is the attention seeker who has made a name by catching celebrities in compromising positions like dope or sexual fetishes. Bud White(Russell Crowe) is a hot headed cop with a soft corner for women. He doesn't wait for answers but pummels them out of criminals.The third is Ed Exley(Guy Pearce), who is a college educated, ethical and out to prove a point officer. Their lives collide when each one finds himself investigating a massacre at a coffee shop that also has a cop in its body count.
At first they jockey for attention but as their inquiries lead them inside an intricate web of police corruption, racist attitudes, prostitution rings and malevolent agendas, they realize that they are safer together on one side.
Every scene of L.A. Confidential carries a brutal realism about it. Right from the tracking of suspects to the brilliant interrogation techniques, the screenplay carries enough narrative twists to hold you on the edge of your seat.
All three actors, Spacey, Crowe and Pearce play their roles to perfection and demands of the script. The other characters are also well sketched like Kim Basinger's role as a call girl (Man is she hot!!)
Art direction is excellent as usual as the locations speak for themselves showing a morally contaminated city. In this age of high tech gadgets, sci-fi thrillers and senseless SFX, L.A confidential delivers a masterpiece of noir cinema that is gritty and disturbing but satisfying as hell.
Highly recommended!! - 4.5/5
Directed by : Curtis Hanson
Once in a while a movie comes along which is old-fashioned in its treatment but doubly effective and it provides an irresistible treat for cinema lovers like me.
Director Curtis Hanson expertly adapts James Ellroy's novel and Brian Hegeland's screenplay based in the 50's Los Angeles, a city which is rife with corruption and racism. The story centers around three cops who have their own style and means to solve crimes.
Jack Vincennes(Kevin Spacey) is the attention seeker who has made a name by catching celebrities in compromising positions like dope or sexual fetishes. Bud White(Russell Crowe) is a hot headed cop with a soft corner for women. He doesn't wait for answers but pummels them out of criminals.The third is Ed Exley(Guy Pearce), who is a college educated, ethical and out to prove a point officer. Their lives collide when each one finds himself investigating a massacre at a coffee shop that also has a cop in its body count.
At first they jockey for attention but as their inquiries lead them inside an intricate web of police corruption, racist attitudes, prostitution rings and malevolent agendas, they realize that they are safer together on one side.
Every scene of L.A. Confidential carries a brutal realism about it. Right from the tracking of suspects to the brilliant interrogation techniques, the screenplay carries enough narrative twists to hold you on the edge of your seat.
All three actors, Spacey, Crowe and Pearce play their roles to perfection and demands of the script. The other characters are also well sketched like Kim Basinger's role as a call girl (Man is she hot!!)
Art direction is excellent as usual as the locations speak for themselves showing a morally contaminated city. In this age of high tech gadgets, sci-fi thrillers and senseless SFX, L.A confidential delivers a masterpiece of noir cinema that is gritty and disturbing but satisfying as hell.
Highly recommended!! - 4.5/5
