L.A. Confidential (1997) *****

There are a bunch of films out there that try to be noir films. Very few succeed with them usually being mediocre cop and robber films. The last great noir film is 1997's L.A. Confidential, a dark and seedy look into the L.A.P.D. of the 1950's. I could give you the plot of the film but it's so layered it would take too long to discuss. It's main storyline follows three cops. One is Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), an up and comer, trying to get all the publicity and promotions he can to get out of his fathers long shadow. He plays by the book, yet knows how the game is played. Another cop is Bud White (Russell Crowe) a veteran hot head who uses force to get to what he wants, especially if someone is harming a woman. Finally there's Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) who serves as the technical advisor on a show that is obviously Dragnet. Under the oversight of their Irish captain (James Cromwell) they sort out various murders, drug deals, and prostitution rings. There's even the femme fatale, a girl far from home who is doing things she never even dreamed of named Lynn (Kim Basinger).

Now I know that my synopsis is rather vague. The film is just so full of plots and connections that it needs to be viewed to be appreciated. It is a 1950's noir film released in 1997. The cast is fantastic, particularly Crowe's sadistic Bud White and Basinger's reluctant glamour whore Lynn Bracken. Both seem to have fallen right out of a John Huston film into this flick. Director Curtis Hanson delivers what is essentially a time capsule into the L.A. of yesteryear. I could almost call this a companion piece to Chinatown. One is as good as the other and capture the era and their characters 100%.

L.A. Confidential is a member along with Raging Bull, Pulp Fiction, and others of the illustrious club of films that were screwed out of the Oscar. It was beaten by Titanic in a popularity contest of the year. Titanic was also a period piece, but it felt like an over produced day time soap compared to the sleek L.A. Confidential which was a well defined and developed piece of cinema. It stands as a testament of great, pure movie making. A modern classic.