L.A. Confidential

I thought this was really great. The film is set in 1950s LA. After crime boss Mickey Cohen is imprisoned for 10 years, it seems like LA will finally be recovering. That is until the LAPD being cast in bad light after several officers were caught (photographed) brutalizing incoming Mexican prisoners who had assaulted two of their fellow cops. Several officers get into trouble for this, including Wendell "Buddy" White, played by Russell Crowe, a man who plays by his own rules and is not afraid to be violent with suspects, especially male domestic abusers after his father had murdered his mother and abandoned him as a child. Buddy is particularly liked by Captain Dudley Smith, played by James Crowell, and is given a reprieve, although his partner Richard Stensland is forced to retire early. From being one of the only officers to try to prevent the violence, Ed Exley, played by Guy Pearce, is promoted to Lieutenant and is now made one of the leading LAPD officers. Exley is criticized by Smith and fellow cops for basically not having a backbone, lacking courage to do everything to bring in the bad guy. After Stensland is found among 6 murdered victims at the Nite Owl Cafe, the LAPD fires from all cylinders to try to figure out who killed him. They eventually find shotguns in the homes of three Black suspects that match the bullet casings at the crime scene. But something doesn't feel right. At the same time, we have Sergeant Jack Vincennes, played by Kevin Spacey, a cop who has a deal with Sid Hudgens, a writer at "Hush Hush" magazine, where Jack gives Hudgens access to celebrity arrests that he can photograph and then Hudgens gives Jack a cut of the profits. A notable figure in this is Pierce Pratchett, who runs the "Fleur-de-Lis" prostitution ring, where he has his women undergo surgery to resemble movie stars, one of them being Lynn Brackens, played by Kim Basinger. After running into Lynn in his investigation (and initially meeting her at an alcohol store), White and Lynn fall in love. Later on, however, when Exley investigates Lynn, he ends up making love with her while Hudgens is in the closet taking photographs, and White ends up seeing this in the course of the investigation, leading to a major fight between Exley and White,. It is discovered that Smith and Pratchett were colluding with each other to take control of the crime in LA, with Smith working to imprison Mickey Cohen, killing people who stood in their way, including Jack and Stensland. They had framed the Black suspects knowing that the LAPD would likely not question it too much. After Hudgens knows too much, Smith and his associates kill him too. The ending is a fight between Exley and Smith, with Exley gaining the upper hand thanks to an assist by White, with their relationship repaired after realizing Smith had tried to infuriate White so he would kill a suspicious Exley in rage. In a very poetic fashion, the beginning of the film has Smith questioning Exley if he would shoot a hardened criminal in the back to ensure the criminal is not bailed out by his lawyer, and in the end Exley initially lets Smith walk away after apprehending him but then shoots him in the back, killing him. The pacing is pretty excellent, I never got bored and it was just very tight. cinematography and setting is great, I almost always love films set in LA especially those taking place in the 20th century just stunning. The score is great and adds to the intensity. The writing is very clever and I love how the mystery actually comes together in the end. I thought Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe were standouts, just so deep within their characters and just great performances that felt authentic. My one ding is I don't really see how Kim Basinger's performance was Oscar-worthy? She is definitely well cast, very alluring and fitting for the 50's setting, but I don't think she is given much to show off her acting chops. It's very solid but not much that is memorable to me. Overall though really enjoyed this.