From the beginning, LA Confidential had me wondering what is going to happen in the next scene. The introduction given by Sid Hudgins (Danny DeVito) gives us the back round story that a big time mobster, Mickey Cohen (Paul Gulifoyle), has been knocked off. He implies that somebody new is going to take over the drug trade business, which is what all the action in the movie is going to revolve around. The sensational tone of Sid as the scene flows casually through a bunch of murder scenes really caught my attention and immediately sucked me into the plot of the movie. The second point where I was left with the feeling, “this is going to be a great movie”, was with the introduction of Bud White (Russell Crow). Bud is a muscular cop, who we quickly find, likes to solve most his problems with violence. He quickly takes care of a raging husband and treats his wife with extreme kindness and compassion. We quickly find out that there is some mystery to this character and there must be some sort of motivation behind his actions. This is also a testimony to the detail put into the screenplay (written by Curtis Hanson); that we can understand so much and ask so many questions in this short scene, as well as powerful acting by Russell Crow. I can really get into the emotion of the character.
The overall acting of Russell Crow, Kevin Spacey (as Jack Vincennes), and Guy Pearce (Ed Exley) was quite convincing. However, having said this, there is one point near the beginning of the set up (from the Blake Snyder template) where the Mexicans have been brought in, and a fight breaks loose in the holding area. During this scene Jack Vincennes is watching in a non-chalant manner until he gets punched in the face. His reaction as he looks down at the blood on his expensive suit and looks back up with a surprised expression seems almost comedic to me, and it took away from the intensity of the scene. Furthermore, there is a feeling throughout the movie that the police force acts like a ‘pack’. There are clearly characteristics in all the main characters that set them apart from the pack; such as Bud’s compassion to protect woman, Exley’s strive for perfection, and Vincennes endeavour to be in the limelight. The short scene where Vincennes sets himself apart, by acting cool about beating up the Mexicans, may have been Curtis Hanson’s way of showing he is a different sort of cop as well.
Hanson’s idea to have Vincennes shot quickly, and spontaneously by Dudley Smith (James Cromwell), provided a powerful twist in the plot. When Vincennes dropped the news he was investigating an ex cop named Buzz, I could read the social cues given off by Cromwell that something had changed, and the mood of the scene also took a quick change at that moment. It was a quick segment of good acting by both Cromwell and Spacey.
The scenes flow in such a way that the complex plot can be easily understood. When Bud is searching the basement of Mrs. Lefferts house and finds the body of Buzz Meeks (Darrel Sandeen), there is a quick flashback of the connection to Buzz at the beginning of the movie. Another example is the short scene when Ed Exley is being interrogated near the end of the film and gives a quick speech that ties everything together. This is an excellent strategy by director Curtis Hanson to ensure that the viewers get everything out of the story line.
The scene when Bud confronts Lynn Bracken when he finds out that Exley had sex with her had good camera work. There is a long shot as his car pulls in, we hear the Digetic sound of the door slamming shut, the tension in Lynn`s face is visible and we know the scene is building to a climax. When Bud begins pacing, the camera is situated in a wide shot so we see Lynn standing there motion less. This allows the viewer to take in all the emotion from both characters at once. The climax of the scene, when bud hits her, the camera cuts to a close of shot of lynn`s horrified face. Another quick cut as Bud stumbles toward her then staggers back. The scene ends with good symmetry as we get another long shot as bud runs back to his car. Another cut and we see Lynn collapse – a powerful scene carried out with excellent camera work.
For being shot in 1997, the film does an excellent job at bringing the feeling of the 50’s. This is partly due to the type of filming, Technicolor noir, which enhances black and white shades. The viewer, if exposed to at least one 50s style movie, can subconsciously make the connection to an older film look.
The plot contains many relationships to real life characters and historical events. The LA police force has been known to have racial animosity and corrupted officers. We can see the racial feelings towards the three negroes, who are suspected of committing the Night Owl murders. They have little evidence to go buy and the suspects are treated extremely harshly. In fact, the only evidence they have on the three negroes is a rumour that Vincennes hears from one of his contacts one of the negroes was driving his car in the neighbourhood at the time of the accident. Furthermore, at the beginning of the movie when the cop brings in the Mexicans and announces they are responsible for some unrelated case, the entire department goes into a bloody frenzy. This scene gave me a similar feeling to how Piggy is treated in Lord of the Flies – the Mexicans looked helpless, the officers relentless. Racism is a powerful theme throughout the film.
During the 50s, woman were struggling for equal rights. There is not one woman throughout the entire movie who plays a positive character. The woman are either secretaries – who constantly are ordered around (and follow the orders without question), and quickly brushed off, or prostitutes – exception to the case of Mrs. Lefferts who is an odd and unappealing character. A prime example is when Exley is beginning to piece everything together, after Vincennes death, and he barks orders out to her.
Overall, there was not a slow part in the movie, or a break in story that caused me to lose interest. The acting, dialogue, editing, and camera work are flawless.
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