A couple of weeks ago while I was having my social media break I finally watched:
L.A. Confidential (1997)
This is yet another one of those films that I fully intended to watch when it was released, but for some inexplicable reason never did.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s a crime/drama/thriller that boasts an all star cast (some of which were just beginning their movie careers at the time), including, Guy Pearce (Memento), Russell Crowe (Gladiator), Kim Basinger (Batman), Kevin Spacey (Seven), James Cromwell (I, Robot) and Danny Devito (Twins) among others.
This is what it’s about according to IMDb:
“As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.”
As usual that synopsis only gives you a vague idea of the story and doesn’t do a lot to make you want to watch the film, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
It starts off really good and introduces the characters very well, one at a time, basically showing us who’s who and what each is about. After a while I did start to wonder what was going on and where the story was going (there are a lot of characters, twists and turns), but luckily it soon picked up and all the pieces started to fit together. Once that happened I was fully engaged again and the last act and finale was worth the wait.
The movie (or at least the beginning and the tone) reminded me a lot of Gangster Squad (2013). Both films are set roughly around the same time (late 40s/early 50s), although whereas Gangster Squad is about the fall of gangster Mickey Cohen and the cops who took him and his organisation down, this film is about the aftermath and the people who tried to fill the hole he left when he got put away.
I’d be lying if I said I preferred this movie to Gangster Squad but it’s still a really good watch and actually a different film altogether.
If you like a decent good-guys-vs-bad-guys/whodunit with a few twists and turns, you’ll probably enjoy this movie.
Seen it? Let me know what you think.👇