L.A. Confidential "Just the facts, Jack!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well just before the end of the month, I figured I would get another post in and this one is yet another revisitation of a previous review, which is of the crime thriller, L.A. Confidential, which in the past I've always been a big fan of.

So, after almost 25 years, how does L.A. Confidential stack up??? Well, let's take another look...

And the usual warning is coming up....

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So the film begins on Christmas Eve 1952, where the hot headed police officer Wendell "Bud" White (Russell Crowe) stops a violent domestic dispute between a married couple as Bud himself has a thing for punishing women beaters. 

After that, Bud and his partner Dick Stensland (Graham Beckel) go back to the police station, where six Mexican suspects are brought into the station who apparently attacked two of the station's officers, who are both in critical condition.  In a vengeful mood, Stensland goes down to the cells and beats up on one of the Mexicans, however Bud tries to restrain him, but when one of the Mexicans insults Bud, Bud joins in and beats up the Mexicans also and before you know it, the whole place erupts into a riot, with the press present, they label the chaos as "Bloody Christmas" in the papers. 

In the aftermath, Bud refuses to testify against his partner Stensland, and is suspended from duty, meanwhile one of the officers Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) who was witness to the attacks, is more than happy to testify against Stensland the other officers who attacked the Mexicans.  At his insistance in order to play ball, Exley requests that he be made detective lieutenant, something which his late father Preston Exley once held the mantel of. 

However in snitching against the other officers, Exley soon makes himself very unpopluar with the other officers.  But the police captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) re-instates Bud, and uses him in his scheme as one of his muscle men to beat up and intimidate any criminals who try to make a name for themselves in LA.

But things take a dramatic turn when Bud's ex-partner Stensland, is found murdered in a coffee shop, the Nite Owl, with some other people, among them was a female associate of the millionaire, Pierce Patchett (David Strathairn) who was girl named Susan Lefferts (Amber Smith).  The LA police dept then arranges a full man-hunt to try and catch the killers, and soon find three young black men as prime suspects for killings. 

On interrogating the men, Exley finds out they actually are holding a young Mexican woman hostage in a house, who has been raped and beaten.  On the scene of the crime, Bud sneaks into the house and kills the black man in the house.  Later on, the young suspects escape the station, but Exley soon tracks them down and kills them, which finally garners him some respect from his fellow officers at the station. 

However something doesn't sit right with Exley about the negros being the killers, as he investigates further, he receives help from local cop celebrity Sergeant Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) who has a sideline in acting as a technical advisor on the show Badge of Honor, as well providing some hot press collars for local sleazy journalist Sid Hudgens (Danny DeVito) who writes and publishes for the "Hush-Hush" tabloid magazine.  Likewise Bud also thinks something is strange about the suspect negro youths, and also investigates, meanwhile he dates Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger) who is a movie star look-a-like of the Hollywood actress, Veronica Lake.

Bud after inquiring about the Nite Owl case to one of the forensic staff, finds out one of the victims was a Susan Lefferts.  Bud goes to Susan's mother's house and inquires about her, and she finds out that Stensland was her boyfriend, on looking around the house, Bud notices a foul smell, which he tracks to under the house, where he finds the remains of Buzz Meeks, Stensland's former partner.  Exley soon follows Bud's tail and he too goes to Mrs Lefferts house where he finds the body, which he takes to the pathology lab to get ID'd. 

Exley working with Vincennes, tails Bud's movements, as they spy on him from Lynn's house, as we see them both together.  Shortly after Exley goes to meet Lynn to confront her, believing that Patchett has her seeing Bud, but she denies this and instead seduces Exley, as the pair of them have sex, we see Sid Hudgens outside the window, taking pictures to frame him. 

Around this time, Vincennes goes to Dudley's house and tells him about an old case involving Dick Stensland and Buzz Meeks (by now his remains have been ID'd by the coroner), when without warning Dudley shoots Vincennes in the chest, he then leans in and asks him "do you have a valediction, boyo?" to which Vincennes quietly gasps "Rollo Tomasi" and then dies (a name that Exley told him earlier, which was a made-up name he gave to the man who killed his father, Preston Exley). 

The next day Dudley let's slip this name to Exley to follow it up, who pretends he doesn't know anything about it, but then realises that Dudley was behind everything to do with the Nite Owl murders.  And after Dudley questions Sid Hudgens, with Bud, Bud learns of Lynn's liaison with Exley from Sid, and violently confronts him back at the station, but Exley convinces Bud that Dudley is behind everything and they decide to put aside their differences and work together to try and bring Dudley down and end the corruption in the LAPD...

THOUGHTS

L.A. Confidential is without any doubt a great film, and for me one of the best films of the 1990s.  Curtis Hanson who after directing some fairly pedestrian thrillers such as The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild, really established himself as a filmmaker here.  The film itself is of course based on the same titled novel by James Elroy, and the book features many more characters and detail which isn't in the film, but what the film presents is surely a great representation of the book. 

And its the characters in L.A. Confidential that make this film work so well, and if you look at it, there actually isn't a morally decent character in the film, everyone is essentially a sleazeball in one way or another, but they are all something of a dichotomy as well.  Exley, may appear to be a stand-up cop with integrity, who refuses to get his hands dirty with planting evidence or beating up suspects, however he does ruthlessly rat on members of the police force, in order to further his own career. 

Bud on the other hand, appears to be as Exley puts it a "mindless thug" but he does have another side to him, as ultimately he wants to be a detective also working cases, but his temper and violent streak threaten to alienate him from the audience at times, but behind it all he is a somewhat sensitive guy with a troubled past and has a thing for punishing women beaters as a result of his own mother being beaten to death by his alcoholic father when he was younger. 

Jack Vincennes is also corrupt character in that he gladly takes money from Sid Hudgens, the local Hush Hush magazine reporter, as he sets up arrests and the suspects get unwanted publicity in Sid's mag, but again behind that, Jack starts to feel guilty about his activities and questions himself as the film goes on.

The film also has several excellent supporting characters, particularly Dudley Smith, as the slight yet intimidating police captain who has another agenda, while he looks after the men under his command, he also ironically has a line in corruption and tampering with evidence as well as police brutality. 

And then we have Pierce Patchett, the mysterious millionaire, who while he hosts high class sex parties, and makes pornographic films, he has ambitions beyond that to invest in freeway construction.  And there's Lynn Bracken, meanwhile she isn't the most interesting character in the film, she is also another one who is wishing to escape from her sleazy lifestyle, as a wannabe film actress, who is engaging in Patchett's sexual enterprises.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)  

Overall the film's performances are great, particularly the three main leads are very strong, with Guy Pearce, who prior to this was in Priscilla, The Queen of the Desert, as a transvestite and playing Mike from Neighbours, playing the part of the ice cool Exley to perfection. 

Pearce has many highlights in the film and the first one that comes to mind is the scene where Exley meets with Vincennes and tells him of "Rollo Tomasi" and says "Rollo Tomasi was a purse snatcher, and he shot my father six times and got away clean.  I didn't even know who he was.  I just made up the name to give him some personality.  Rollo Tomasi was the reason I became a cop, I wanted to catch the guys who thought they could get away with it.  But somewhere along the way I lost sight of that.  It was supposed to be about justice." 

Another one of Guy's best scenes is where Dudley asks him if he has heard of a known associate which alarms him but in a way in which he tries not to show it, and in this moment we see Guy give a very subtle reaction with his eyes.  Its a very subtle and deft moment in his performance. 

So, in the scene Dudley asks Exley "Edmund, might I have a word with you? We did a record check on Vincennes leads. The last one is a dead end" and Exley asks "What's the name?" and Dudley says "Rollo Tomasi" and Exley's widen in alert but he remains calm and Dudley asks "Have you heard of him?" and Exley blankly says "No. No, I haven't". So, Dudley accepts his answer and says "Oh, well. Just keep your eyes open, eh, Boyo?" and he walks off and Exley looks alarmed and throws a glare at Dudley after he walks off. 

Then there is the scene from Pearce is where Exley interrogates the negro youths about the Nite Owl murders in the interrogation rooms and he slyly turns the PA speakers on in the other rooms for the other youths so they can hear what the one Exely is interrogating is saying.  And Pearce has a good line in the scene where he says to one of the youths, Ray, "You know, Ray, I'm talking about the gas chamber and you haven't even asked me what this is about.  You've got a big "guilty" sign around your neck!". 

And another highlight from Guy comes in the scene where Exley confronts Bud after Bud has rescued the rape victim and Exley asks Bud "How do you think it will look in your report?!" and Bud says it will look like justice, and Exely sharply replies "You don't know the meaning of the word you ignorant bastard!". Bud then angrily walks toward Exley and says "Yeah? Maybe you think its about getting your picture in the paper! Why don't you go after criminals for a change instead of cops?!" and Exley defiantly says "Stensland got what he deserved and so will you!" and this sets off Bud who goes for Exley but he is held back by half a dozen cops! So, Dudley approaches Exley and says "Its best to stay away from a man when his blood is up" and Exley says "His blood is ALWAYS up!". 

Yet another good scene is when Exley goes with Vincennes to question Johnny Stampanato, Mickey Cohen's right hand man, who is on a date with Lana Turner.  But Exley thinks that she is just a hooker cut to look like Lana Turner and he says to Stampanato "Since when do two-bit hoods and hookers give out autographs?!" and he says "A hooker cut to look like Lana Turner, is still a hooker!  She just looks like Lana Turner" but Vincennes tells Exley that she really is Lana Turner, who angrily throws a drink in Exley's face. 

Then there is the scene where Bud out of rage nearly kills Exley when he learns that he slept with Lynn and Exley tells him that (PLOT SPOILER!) Dudley was behind it all.  So, in the scene after Bu beats on Exley, Exley manages to grab Bud's gun and aims at him and says "Dudley killed Jack, he wants you to kill me! He showed you the photo, didn't he?! Didn't he?!". Bud, however angrily glares at Exley and knocks the gun out his hand and grabs Exley and slams him against the filing cabinets and Exley shouts "THINK! GOODAMN YOU!! THINK!". So, Bud finally relents and let's go of Exley, and hurls a chair through the window and he slowly calms down and says to himself "Dudley!". 

Exley grabbing his breath tells Bud "Dudley, Stensland and Buzz Meeks go way back!" and as they talk Exley says to Bud "If we are going to work this out we need to work together" and Bud looks surprised as he says to him "Why are you doing this?  The Nite Owl made you, now you wanna tear all that down?" and Exley replies "With a wrecking ball!  You wanna help me swing it?".     

This is then followed by the scene where Exley and Bud confront the D.A. Loew at his office and Loew asks Exley "What do you want?" and Exley says "I want D.A. bureau men to tail Dudley Smith and Pierce Patchett 24 hours a day. I want you to get a judge to authorize wiretaps on their home phones, and I want authorization to check their bank records". Loew, a little surprised asks "On what evidence?" and Bud says "Call it a hunch" and Loew says "Absolutely not! Dudley Smith is a highly decorated police officer of this department. I won't smear his name without..." and Exley interrupts him and says "Without what?! Without him smearing yours first? What's he got on you, Loew? Pictures of you and Reynolds with your pants down?". Loew then bluntly asks "You got any proof?" and Exley says "The proof got his throat slit, so far you're not denying it" but Loew dismissively says "Look, I'm not gonna dignify this with answers, so if you don't mind, I've got a press conference for Jack Vincennes to prepare" and he goes into bathroom and shuts the door. 

So, after the door shuts, Exley gives Bud a look to go in after him, who gladly obliges and he walks up close to Loew to intimidate him but Loew is not phased as he trims his nasal hair looking in the mirror. So, Loew says coolly "Unless you came here to wipe my ass, I believe we're through. Come on, don't pull that good cop, bad cop crap, I practically invented it! So, what if some homo actor is dead. Boys, girls, ten of them step of the bus to L.A. everyday". But Bud then violently grabs Loew and smashes his head against the mirror and sticks his head down the toilet and brings him up and Loew screams "PULL HIM OFF ME, EXLEY!" and Exley says "I don't know how!". So, as Bud intimidates Loew more, he then dangles Loew out of his office building and Loew, terrified, tells them what he knows and finally let's Loew up, who lies on the ground shaking with fear. So, Exley asks him "Is that how you used to run the good cop, bad cop?!".

And last of all is the scene where in the aftermath of the final shootout at the Victory motel, Exley is questioned at the police station. So, Exley is asked "Do you think you can talk your way out of this, Lieutenant?" and Exley says "No, but I think I can tell the truth". So, Exley goes on in detail to explain his findings and the corruption involving Dudley taking over Mickey Cohen's drug rackets. And Exley finishes by saying "Captain Dudley Smith admitted as much to me before I shot him at the Victory motel. That's it". So, the police chief and Loew discuss what they should, Loew suggests "Maybe if we can get the kid to play ball, maybe Dudley Smith died a hero". So, at this point we see Exley smile and the chief asks "What are you smiling about?" and Exley says "A hero!" and the chief and the other officers are surprised he heard them. So, Exley says "In this stiuation...you're gonna need more than one!".   

Russell Crowe is also excellent as the hotheaded and brutal cop, Bud White, who is two thirds heavy, one third sensitive, and he provides some of the film's highlights with Bud's violent behaviour as well as some of the film's best dialogue. 

And Crowe's various highlights in the film include his opening scene where he interrupts a domestic dispute between a couple and he pulls down their Christmas decorations outside to break it up.  And as the burly man steps out and asks "Who the hell are you?!" Bud replies "The ghost of Christmas past.  Why don't you dance with a man for a change?" and the angrily says "What are you?! Some kind of smart ass?!" and he takes a swing at Bud and misses as Bud beats him up and cuffs him to a porch rail. So, Bud says to man "You'll be out in a year, I'll get cosy with your parole officer.  You touch her again and I'll have you violated on a kiddie raper beef!" and he grabs the man's head and says "You know what they do to kiddie rapers up in Quentin!".  

Then there is the scene where Exley interrogates the black youths about the Nite Owl murders, but it comes to light that they are holding a girl some place who they have raped and assaulted.  And this leads to Bud going ape and barging in on the interrogation and grabbing the youth, Ray and taking out his gun and removing five of the bullets and jams it into Ray's mouth shouting "One in six!  Where is the girl?!" and he pulls the trigger again yelling "WHERE IS THE GIRL????!!!!" before a terrified Ray tells him. 

Another good scene comes afterward where Bud argues with Exley over the nature of his rescuing the rape victim.  And Bud angrily says to Exley "Why don't you give your career a rest and go after criminals for a change instead of cops!" and as Exley asks him what it will look like Bud says "It will look like justice!  That's what the man got.  Justice!".  And Exely taunts him by saying about Bud's ex-partner Stensland "Stensland got what he deserved and so will you!" which prompts Bud to go apeshit and charge at Exley but he is restrained by about six police officers! 

Another good scene is the one where Bud and Lynn chat while they are in bed together and Bud tells her about his troubled, violent past and how his alcoholic father beat him and killed his mother. So, in the scene Bud tells Lynn about a scar on his arm "When I was 12 years old, my father went after my mother with a bottle and I got in the way" and Lynn asks "So, you saved her?" and Bud says "Not for long. He tied me to the radiator and then beat her to death with a tire iron. 3 days later a truant officer found us, they never found the old man". So, Lynn asks "Is that why you became a cop? To get even?" and Bud says "Maybe" and Lynn then asks "Do you like it?" and Bud sighs and says "I used to. But now its all strong-arm sitting duck stuff. If I could work cases at homicide I could be a real detective. There's something wrong with the Nite Owl I just can't prove it. That prick Exley shot the wrong guys. I know it! I'm just not smart enough. I'm just the guy they bring in to scare the other shitless!". 

Then there is the scene where Bud questions Johnny Stampanato in a bar about what he knows of the former disgraced cop, Buzz Meeks, but he isn't too forthcoming, so Bud applies shall we say, a bit of pressure on him! ;-)

 

So, in the scene, Bud walks into a bar where he sees Stampanato and says to him "Johnny Stampanato!" and Stampy says to him "Officer Wendell White! How's tricks, paisano?" and Bud bluntly says "I ain't your paisano!". So, Bud asks him what he knows about Buzz Meeks and Johnny says to him "Oh, yeah, Buzz Meeks. A run down ex-cop, the same you're gonna be someday. And you can keep your 20 bucks!". 

So...Bud tries a different approach and grabs Johnny by the nuts, who groans painfully and Bud says to him "What do I get if I give you your balls back, you wop cocksucker?!". So, Johnny painfully says "OK! OK! There was... a rumour going around that Meeks had a line on a large supply of H" and Bud tightens his grip on Johnny's crotch and says "And?!" and Johnny painfully says "AND NOTHING! HE SKIPPED TOWN!". Bud then says "Bullshit! How did a two-bit hick like Meeks get a supply of heroin?" and Johnny says "You're right, its probably bullshit! They couldn't move it with creating all kinds of attention!". So, Bud finishes by saying "Maybe that's why he's under a house in Elysian park and don't smell too good...paisano!" and he puts 20 dollars in Johnny's jacket and leaves.

Then there is the scene where Exley and Bud pay a visit to the D.A. Ellis Loew (Ron Rifkin) who Exley questions but doesn't get far with him, so Bud interrupts Loew in the toilet and violently grabs his head and shoves it down the toilet before letting him up he says "Now I know you think your the A-number one hotshot, but here's the juice...if I take you out, there will be 10 more lawyers to take your place tomorrow.  They won't come on the bus that's all!" before he pulls up Loew and then dangles him outside his office window until Loew gives in and spills the beans.     

And last of all is the moment where Bud and Exley are set up by Dudley, who has set an ambush to kill them at the Victory motel, so both men get inside and board up the entrances and arms themselves. So, Exley anxiously says to himself "All I wanted was to measure up to my father" and Bud says "Now's your chance. He died in the line of duty, didn't he?" and Exley looks at him and both men share a smile before the climactic gunfight begins. 

Kevin Spacey is also excellent in his role as Jack Vincennes, the suave celebrity cop who slowly becomes disillusioned with his job as he makes money on the side grabbing collars for the sleazy L.A. magazine, Hush Hush run by Sid Hudgens.  

However...I have to say, I find it hard to appreciate Spacey's work that much anymore after his allegations of sexual assault/misconduct came out back in 2017, it put me off watching his films altogether. So, this is the first time I've watched anything starring him since then, so while I certainly don't respect Spacey anymore, I can however still see the merits of his performance here all the same.

And Spacey's notable scenes include the one where Vincennes talks to Exley at the court where they both are going to testify against some of the police officers involved in the prison riot at the start of the film.  And in the scene Vincennes says to Exley "Come on you're playing an angle here, college boy, so you don't have to hobnob with rank and file cops who are gonna hate your guts for snitching!" and he continues "Well if they are going to make you detective, watch out! Some of the men are gonna burn in this and you're gonna end up having to work with friends of theirs". Exley asks Vincennes "What about you?" and Vincennes smugly tells him "Me...I'm snitching three old timers, who will be fishing in Oregon, this time next week! Next to you, I'm clean and smart!". So, Exley just gives Vincennes a look and walks off and Vincennes and calls after him "Oh and Bud White will fuck you for this if it takes him the rest of his life!". 

And then there is the scene where Exley and Vincennes go to the hotel room where the young black men but on their way in Exley forgets to bring his glasses just before they go and arrest the youths and Vincennes says to him "You're kidding!  Well just don't shoot me". So, before they go in, they meet with two other cops, Breuning and Carlyle at the scene in a garage, who have discovered shotguns in the back seat of a car. So, Vincennes says to them "Well, goodbye Vice! Badge of Honor here I come!" but Carlyle angrily says to him "Hey fuck you, Vincennes! This is our collar!" and Exley interrupts and says "Quiet! I'm ranking officer here! We go in as a team, end of story!" and Vincennes whisper to them "He's very serious(!)". So, as they break in and arrest the youths, and Vincennes turns to Exley and says "So, how does it feel getting out of the office?!".

Then there is the scene where Jack sits pondering in a bar what to do about going through with Sid Hudgens scam to screw over the young actor whom was disgraced , Matt Reynolds at the start of the film by Hudgens.  And in the scene Vincennes in the bar, looks at himself in the mirror, clearly unhappy with his situation, he then goes to the hotel where the actor, Matt Reynolds and the DA are supposed to be. So, Vincennes enters the hotel room and calls out to Reynolds "Hey, kid! Come on, kid...you don't have to do..." but he looks down and sees Reynolds lying dead on the floor with his throat cut. Vincennes kicks open the bathroom door to see if anyone is there but its empty and he looks down at Reynolds corpse with guilt.

Then there is the great scene where Exley meets with Vincennes and asks him to tail Bud White to see where he goes. So, Exley says to Vincennes "I need you to tail Bud White tonight and see where he goes" and Exely says "I'm busy, why don't you go and ask one of your boys from homicide?" and Exley says "I can't. I need someone outside homicide". So, Vincennes says to him "Why don't you do me a real favour and leave me alone?!" but Exley asks him "Do you make the three negroes for the Nite Owl killings?" and Vincennes, a little taken aback asks "What?" and Exley says "Its a simple question". So, Vincennes asks Exley "Why do you want to go deeper into the Nite Owl killings...Lieutenant?!" and Exley says "Rollo Tomasi" and Vincennes, confused asks "Is there more to that or am I supposed to guess?". 

Exley then explains that Rollo was a made up name for the person who killed his father, Preston, who was a highly decorated cop and how he became a cop because of it. So, Exley then asks Vincennes "Why did you become a cop?" and Vincennes take a long moment and sounding a little emotional says "I don't remember...". Vincennes then asks "What do you want, Exley?" and Exley says "I just want to solve this thing" and Vincennes says "The Nite Owl was solved" but Exley insists "No, I want to do it right" and Vincennes asks "Even if it involves paying the consequences?" and Exley nods. So, Vincennes suddenly get's up and says "Alright, college boy, I'll help! But there's a case I want help with your boys in homicide think is just another Hollywood homo-cide but I don't! You help me with mine, I'll help you with yours. Deal?" and Exley says "Deal".  

Then there is the scene where Jack checks with the coroner over the ID of the body that Exley found earlier under Mrs Lefferts house. So, Jack asks the coroner if he got an ID and the coroner says "Thank God for dental records. Stiff used to be a cop. Meeks!" and Vincennes asks "Buzz Meeks?" and the coroner asks "You know him?" and Jack says "OF him, he was around when I begun at the force. Bad rep! Thanks!" and the coroner jokingly calls after him "Just the facts, Jack! Just the facts!" referencing the "Call of Duty" TV show that Vincennes advises for.

And Spacey's last scene in the film is one of his best where Vincennes meets with Dudley at his home and Vincennes tells Dudley of the investigations into an old case involving Stensland and Buzz Meeks. 

So, in the scene, Dudley at his home, open the door to see Vincennes and says to him "Jack Vincennes, its going on midnight, Jack!" and Vincennes says "I need two minutes, Dudley, its important" and Dudley smiles and says "Its a good thing my wife and four fair daughters are at the beach in Santa Barbara!" and he let's him in. So, the two men in Dudley's kitchen discuss Buzz Meeks, and Vincennes asks "Do you remember Buzz Meeks?" and Dudley tells him "A disgrace of a police officer. Straight D fitness reports from every CO he served under". 

So, Vincennes explains the case connecting Buzz and Stensland years back and he asks Dudley what he remembers of the case as he was the supervisory officer at that time. So, Dudley asks Vincennes him what its all about and Jack tells him "Its something I'm work with Ed Exley on" and Dudley says "You're narcro, Jack. Since when do you work with Ed Exley?" and Vincennes says awkwardly "Well...its a private investigation" and Dudley says "Oh?" and Vincennes says "I messed something up, I'm trying to make amends" and Dudley says to him "Don't start trying to do the right thing, boyo! You haven't had the practice". 

Dudley then makes some tea for them and asks "So, what does Exley make of all this?" and Vincennes says "I haven't told him yet. I've just come from the records room" however at this point, Dudley spins round holding a gun ans shoots Jack in the chest, who gasps for breath. And Dudley then moves in close to Vincennes and coldly asks him "Do you have a valediction, boyo?" and Vincennes quietly says "Rollo Tomasi!" before he gives a short laugh and then dies and there is no one better at doing dead acting than Spacey here, as his stillness is incredible.    

James Cromwell, next is superb here and arguably provides the film's best performance as Dudley Smith, the corrupt police captain. Prior to this, Cromwell had not really done any real dramatic roles and appeared in more lighter films such as Babe but here he shows his chops in one of his best performances.

Cromwell also has his share of great moments such as his first scene with Exley where Dudley asks after Exley's impressive test results in a police exam what line of work would Exley like to work in and Exley replies "I was thinking detective bureau".  And Dudley says to Exley "Ed, you're a political animal, you have the eye for human weakness but not the stomach" and as Exley says he is wrong, Dudley says "Would you be willing to plan corroborative evidence on a suspect you knew to be guilty, in order to ensure an indictment?  Would you be willing to beat a confession out of a suspect you knew to be guilty?  Would you be willing to shoot a hardened criminal in the back, in order to offset the chance that some lawyer...".  And Exley says no to all these questions and Dudley says "Then for the love of God, don't be a detective.  Stick to assignments where you don't have to make those kind of choices!". 

Another good scene is where Dudley calls for Bud to meet with him at a bar not long after Bud's suspension. So, Bud asks Dudley "Captain, what do you want?" and Dudley smiles and says "Call me Dudley" and Bud sits down and asks "Dudley...what do you want?". Dudley then explains himself "Look lad, I admire your refusal to testify against your partner. I also admire you as a policeman, particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjutant to the job. And I'm most impressed with your punishment of women beaters. Do you hate them, Wendell?". Bud however, remains reluctant to comment and leans in and asks again "What do you want?" and Dudley lifts a paper under which are Bud's gun and badge "Their yours. Go ahead take em!". 

So, Bud enthusiastically takes back his gun and badge and asks "Is there no goddamn bill on me?" and Dudley tells him "Three witness recanted their testimony" and Bud asks "Why?" and Dudley says "They had a change of heart!". Bud then asks "What about Stensland?" and Dudley tells him "Your partner's through. Department scapegoat on the chief's orders" and Bud says "A year from his pension..." and he shakes his head. Bud then asks "Exley?" and Dudley tells him "Exley made his play and got what he wanted. As a politician, he exceeds even myself. Look lad, the chief has given me the go ahead for a new assignment of which few men are fit for but you were born for. You'll be working out of homicide, down at city hall". And Bud smiles "Homicide? Working cases?" and Dudley smiles and says "Your talents lie elsewhere, Wendell. Its a muscle job. You'll do what I say and ask no questions. Do you follow my drift?" and Bud says "In technocolor, sir!". 

Then there is the scene where Dudley meets with Vincennes and then shoots him in a surprise twist, he leans close in on the dying Vincennes and asks him "Do you have a valediction, Boyo?".  And the next day Dudley meets with Bud and asks him to come with him to the Victory motel, where they interrogate suspects and he says to Bud "You seem to be a bit of a puzzlement to me these days, Wendell and I had such great plans for your future.  You have your own extracurricular activities and so do I". 

And then there is the scene where Dudley interrogates Sid Hudgens with Bud present, Dudley looks over to Bud to have him stay alert and ready to beat up Sid when needed.  And Dudley says to him "Wendell I want full and docile co-operation on every topic!" and as Dudley questions Sid some more, Bud slugs a powerful punch to Sid's gut and Dudley says one of his best lines to Sid "Reciprocity, Mr Hudgens, is the key to every relationship!". 

And when Sid drops the hint that Exely slept with Lynn by mentioning blackmail photos he had taken, this prompts Bud to go ballistic (again!) and uproot the interrogation seat from the floor and nearly stomp on Sid before racing off to the car and finding the photos of Lynn and Exley together.  And as Bud leaves in his car to confront Lynn, Dudley looks on from the door and says "I wouldn't trade places with Edmund Exley right now for all the whisky in Ireland!".      

Next is Kim Basinger as the call girl, Lynn Bracken, and Kim gives a pretty decent performance in the film but its far from worthy of the academy award she received for it, particularly when the film has so many good performers. 

Still Kim does have some good moments in the film such as the scene where she first meets with Bud and she flirts with him and says "There's blood on your shirt, is that an intrical part of your job?" and Bud says yes and Lynn asks "Do you enjoy it?" and Bud says "When they deserve it" and Lynn asks "Did they deserve it today" and Bud suddenly says "I don't know".  And as Bud leaves he turns at the door and says to her "I would like to see you again" and Lynn says "Are you asking me for an appointment or a date?" and Bud all of a sudden becomes embarrassed and says "I don't know" and Lynn says "Well, if its for a date I'll need to ask your..." and Bud interrupts her and says "Forget I asked.  It was a mistake" and he walks out. 

And later there is Kim's scene with Guy Pearce, where Exley confronts Lynn, who ends up seducing him and she taunts Exley by saying how good Bud is (as she is dating Bud by this time).  And Lynn says to Exley "I see Bud because I want to.  I see Bud because he can't hide the good inside him.  I see Bud because he treats me like Lynn Bracken and not some Veronica Lake look-a-like who fucks for money. I see Bud because of all the ways he isn't you". So, Exley getting a bit hot under his collar, says to Lynn "Don't underestimate me, Miss Bracken!" and Lynn says "The same way you underestimated Bud White?" and Exley suddenly kisses her and Lynn heatedly says to him "Fucking me and fucking Bud are not the same thing, you know!" and Exley heatedly says back "Stop talking about Bud White!". So, of the two of them continue to kiss and fall onto the floor and we see Lynn, unbeknownst to Exley, look out the window as Sid Hudgens is taking pictures of them from outside.

Also there is the scene near the end where Lynn having being beaten by an angry Bud for cheating on him, sits quietly at the police station when Exley arrives, who by this time has also been beaten by Bud.  And Exley asks her "Are you ok?" and she says yes and looks at him and says "Are you OK?". Exley then asks Lynn "Lynn, I need you to tell me what you know about Dudley Smith?" and Lynn asks "What?" and Exley tells her "He's a police captain, who's in business with Patchett" but Lynn says "I've never heard of him". Exley, realising she is telling the truth, just asks her "Do you have a place to stay?" and Lynn reassuringly smiles at him and says "I'll be fine".

And getting to the last two, first of all there is Danny DeVito, who actually to be honest plays the film's most irritating character, Sid Hudgens, the sleazy reporter for Hush Hush magazine. 

Still DeVito has some good moments in the film, such as the scene where he sets up the young actor Matt Reynolds to seduce the D.A. and Sid turns to Vincennes and says "As if the Badge of Honor, would touch that guy with a ten foot pole after he's been Hush-Hush cover boy twice in one year!". Vincennes then goes off topic and asks Sid "What do you know about Pierce Patchett?" and Sid says "Patchett? I know what you know: he's rich and he's about to invest in freeway construction, which will make him even richer!". Vincennes then expresses his concerns to Sid "Just I keep hearing rumours of his high class porn, hookers cut to look like movie stars..." and Sid says "Patchett is what I call twilight, he ain't queer and he ain't red. He can't help me for my quest in prime sinuendo!" and he waves a 50 dollar note infront of Vincennes, who reluctantly takes it. So, Vincennes says "I'll see you later, Sid" and Sid says to him "Midnight tonight! I can guarantee all kinds of illegal activity!". 

Then there is the scene where Sid is interrogated by Dudley and he receives a few hefty punches from Dudley's man and Bud, and he tells Dudley what knows about Vincennes "Jack Vincennes. The Big V? All I can tell you as I know he is on his way to the big adios!" and Dudley nods for one of his men to beat him. So, Sid painfully says "I didn't have anything to do with getting him killed if that's what you mean!". Dudley then says "But you were business associates" and Sid says "OK, so we worked together. It was an information exchange! I got him first class collars and he got me good stories. We were frends, for Christ's sake!". 

Dudley then asks Sid what he knows about Patchett and Sid asks him "What? Do you think he had something to do with Jack getting iced?" and Dudley warns Bud he wants him to be ready to pitch in and be ready to hit Sid if he doesn't comply. So, Sid says "OK, OK! Everybody knows that Patchett is worth a boat load of greenbacks. But the man has hobbies too. He bank rolls B movies under the table and try this on, he is said to be a periodic heroin sniffer. All in all, a powerful behind-the-scenes strange-o". And Dudley asks "And?" and Sid rather impatiently asks "And what?" and at this point, Bud delivers a brutal punch to Sid's gut, who groans painfully and Dudley smiles and says "Reciprocity, Mr Hudgens, is the key to every relationship!".

So, Sid painfully says "He runs calls girls. Primo tail, fixed up to look like movie stars" and Dudley presses him and asks "And???" and Sid continyes "Blackmail shit in my car!  Patchett got me to take pictures of this cop screwing some gorgeous slut named Lynn, who looks just like Veronica Lake!".  And this sets off Bud, who violently uproots the bolted down chair that Sid is sitting in and he tries to kick Sid in the face but he is restrained by Dudley's men, so he instead grabs Sid's car keys, runs outside and opens up the trunk and finds the blackmail pics of Lynn and Exley together, which prompts him to vengefully drive off in his car after them. 

And after Bud attacks Sid and leaves, Sid says to Dudley "I thought you were gonna let the dumb bastard kill me!  You can uncuff me now fellas" just before Dudley puts on some leather gloves and leans over Sid, who panics and says "But you and me and Patchet, we're a team!  Dudley!" and Dudley puts his hand over Sid's mouth and says "Hush! Hush!". 

And last of all there is David Strathairn who is great in his role as Pierce Patchett, the corrupt and wealthy businessman, who runs high class sex parties as well as makes adult films using call girls dressed up as movie stars. 

Strathairn also has some good moments in the film such as his scene where he meets with Bud and he says to him what he knew of Susan Lefferts, the girl who was killed in the Nite Owl massacre. So, Patchett explains how he uses girls for his movie studio that look like movie stars and says to Bud "I use girls that look like movie stars. Sometimes I employ a plastic surgeon. When the work had been done, that's when you saw us". So, Bud says "So, that's why her mother couldn't ID her" and Patchett nods and Bud shakes his head and says "Jesus fucking Christ!".  

And after he answers Bud's question he says "Now I sense you are on your best behaviour but that's all I'm going to say for now.  If you persist I will meet you with my attorney".  So, Patchett then says to Bud "Now, do you want Lynn Bracken's address? I've got it..." and Bud tells him "I've got her address" and Patchett then says to Bud "Catch Susan's killer, Mr White and I will give you a handsome reward.  Whatever you desire!" and he walks off and closes his garage door. 

And later when Patchett meets with Exley and Vincennes and he says to them "The Nite Owl is your area of expertise, Lt Exley. I saw you on television getting your medal" and he says to Vincennes "And you're quite another Hollywood celebrity, aren't you?" and Vincennes playfully points his fingers at him. So, Exley asks Patchett "The Veronica Lake look-a-like is one of your whores? Correct?" and Patchett says "A vulgar term!" and Exley asks "Why is she seeing Bud White?" and Patchett asks him "Well, why do men and women usually see each other, Mr Exley?". So, Vincennes asks him "OK, how about this? Fleur de Lis? Whatever you desire? An actor named Matt Reynolds? Ring a bell? Anything No?" however Patchett says nothing. So, Exley says "We want some answers, Patchett" and Patchett turns to him and says "Oh, well ALL want something!". 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Finally getting onto the director, Curtis Hanson, who does a superb job here with the film and the jump in quality between his previous efforts such as River Wild and this one is quite remarkable. 

Hanson confidently handles the film's action and also ties the story nicely together along with all the plot strands involving the three lead characters as he even co-wrote the screenplay alongside Brian Helgeland.  Hanson also keeps the film moving at a brisk pace and never at any time does it flag or feel like any scenes are padded out. 

And last there is the film's music score which was written by the late great Jerry Goldsmith, one of the all time great composers in American cinema.  Goldsmith's score provides the perfect mixture of sleaze, menace and moodiness to capture the time of the film and the events.  Strangely enough the score also resembles Goldsmith's score for Chinatown, in fact you could almost swear at times that's what you were listening to if you kept your eyes closed.  Overall its a great one.  

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)
 
As for the L.A. Confidential's flaws... welll yeah OK it does have a few niggling ones here and there.

For starters, one of things I might say about it is that the only really irritating character in the film is Sid Hugens who's journo code-talk (if you want to call it that!) and his relentless cheery eyed, devilish optimisim becomes quite tiresome as well as the way he yaks on using terms such as "acey ducey" and "ingenuine dykes" and "I want an all hopheads cover issue, Schwartzman, Jazz musicians and all!" and how Jack Vincennes "is on the night train to the big adios!". In short, it makes you wonder what the hell he is really talking about?! 

In fact when Hudgens gets his comeuppance you don't really have that much sympathy for him anyway, given all the dirt he has dug up on so many people throughout the film.  This does however pre-empt one of the film's best lines from one of the cops that arrives on the scene of Sid's murder, where he says "someone beat him to death, and stole a bunch of files.  Guess he dug up dirt on the wrong guy, we've got it nailed down to a thousand suspects!". 

Another slight issue I have with the film is the almost telepathic link that Exley and Bud have with each other that they just happen to know something was written with the Nite Owl killings and how it was solved.  And yeah OK I buy it more for Exley as he got his doubts from when he questioned the rape victim after he wheeled her out in a wheelchair from the hospital as she lied in her statement to the police, but with Bud its more just an intuition than anything else. 

So in a way there is not much basis for Bud sussing it out other than just a hunch but the two men seem to have their doubts just at the same time.  But I guess the same can be said for Jack Vincennes but the murder of the young aspiring actor was what got him thinking something was up but he didn't make the connection between the actor's death and the Nite Owl killings.  Again its a bit trivial but just an afterthought.       

Another thing that bothered me was when the young black guys escaped the police station as basically in this scene ALL the police officers seemed to vacate the station leaving them free to escape!  Now this is quite a bizzare case of police negligence to say the least that they would not at least leave a few police officers behind to guard them!  But nope, they all clear off to arrive at the crime scene to save the Mexican girl. In fact it almost reminds me of the scene where in The Dark Knight Rises, where Commissioner Gordon sends all the cops down in the tunnels to smoke out the film's main villain, Bane, who ends up trapping them down there! So for me this is one of the very few scenes here that don't quite add up and appears to lack a bit of logic.

I also thought that the scene where Exley tries to question the rape victim JUST as she is being carried into the back of an ambulance car, is also pretty ridiculous. I mean, the woman has just suffered a severely traumatic experience and Exley wants to question her there and then??!! I come on! Give her some time to recover at least for God's sake! So, Bud is totally in the right to push Exley away from her and tells him to "give your career a rest!" as its a pretty stupid and tactless scene on Exley's part.

And lastly, I thought it was also very debatable to assume that Bud could survive gunshot wounds near the end of the film as he is shot in the chest and then through the cheek! I mean maybe its possible he could have survived it but it seems a bit unlikely although by the end of the film, it looks like Bud has lost the ability of speech so maybe the bullet compromised his vocal chords in someway.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, L.A. Confidential is still a terrific noir thriller and one of the best films of the 1990's that features some great performances from its ensemble cast, some tense action scenes as well as a terrific score from Jerry Goldsmith. And any minor flaws it has can be really be overlooked as this is for me still one of the great modern crime thrillers of its day and to this day, it hasn't aged a bit.

So, I will finish by giving L.A. Confidential rating of:

9.5 out of 10.

Right, that's it for now and I will be back with another post sometime soon, until then its off the record, on the QT and very hush hush! 

Bye for now!