L.A. Confidential

Ah, back from vacation... giving me the necessary time to take a good chunk out of my back-logging. Let's examine item number one: L.A. Confidential.

Back in college at LMU there was one film school graduate alum that got his name thrown around quite a bit a due to his success and recognition within the industry. This would be Brian Helgeland (a UMass Dartmouth undergrad no less). As a fairly prominent writer/director, his greatest claim to fame would probably the writing credit he got for this film... of which he won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. I acquired this film from a friend waaay back in school. Never once watching it - or returning it - till this past week. (I actually just watched it; didn't return.)

The film is outstanding. For those out there that have played L.A. Noire, the game's aesthetics, characters, and soundtrack pull heavily from this guy. Of course, L.A. Confidential borrows from all the standard noirs - that gritty, stylized look and feel of crime mysteries of the 40's and 50's - but let's move on. Based from James Ellroy's acclaimed novel (I still have on my back-blog his memoir: My Dark Places), this film's plot is fairly simple yet still convoluted. We have the typically corrupt police unit. Most everyone in the LAPD is skimming bribe money or what-have-you off the top, letting the big crooks slide by while prosecuting minorities or divvying out some good ol' police brutality. Then we have the new guy who plays strictly by the books. On the other end, we have the bruiser cop. Although still somewhat of a morally sound, he always break the rules with his violent temper. After a string of mysterious murders (one of the victims being an ex-cop recently retired - former partner to hot-head mentioned earlier) these two guys set off to uncover the hidden truths of these crimes that eventually lead to some shocking realizations of the city's own governing bodies. Even with this simple set-up, there becomes to be so many new characters (each with their own sub-plots) that it becomes easy to lose track of who's who. By the end of the film, however, simplicity returns as most of the characters find their way out of the story - one way or another - allowing the audience to just focus on our two tough cops.  

Along with an outstanding cast (Russell Crowe, Guy Pierce, Kim Basinger, Kevin Spacey, and Danny DeVito) that can really delivery on their performances, this film has some brutal action/shoot-out scenes despite it being a drama. One in particular is at the movie's climax. The two lead cops (finally teaming up together) are trapped in an abandoned motel on the outskirts of the city surrounded by armed men. They pull a "Last Stand at the Alamo" and hold their ground to stay alive. Honestly upwards of the top 15 gun fights on film - maybe not by it's execution alone, but that suspense at knowing it's them against the city keeps you glued to your seat. (For reference: I'm not sure about my number one shoot-out scene... guessing that might be The Matrix's lobby scene or the climax to The Wild Bunch - Any suggestions on what could be better?) 

Through and through,  this is a solid movie. Anyone at least interested in some great dialogue and an intriguing murder mystery with some gritty violence should give this one a go. It's definitely getting my hyped up for Gangster Squad coming out next month. About time we got another hardboiled slab of crime fiction.