Overlooked Movie Marathon 2: LA Confidential (1997)

In the late 90s, studios were still worried about movies starring unestablished actors.  This was the case when it came to the next second annual Overlooked Movie Marathon film, LA Confidential.  Recency was worried that Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce weren’t known enough to make the movie a success.  That wasn’t an issue, as the film far exceeded the budget in terms of box office.  The two actors also gave great performances in their respective roles.  I couldn’t imagine the movie any other way.

LA Confidential is a 1997 film directed by Curtis Hanson and based on the book by James Ellroy.  It starred Guy Pearce as Ed Exley, a police officer rising through the ranks of the Los Angeles police force in the early 1950s.  He is aided by Bud White (Russell Crowe), an officer who is skilled in being a brute, and Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), a narcotics detective who works with a magazine publisher to arrest celebrities.  As well, this movie features Kim Basinger, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito, and David Strathairn.

There’s something about bringing a classic genre of film into a new age that makes for an interesting experience.  You see this with westerns all the time.  Westerns were big throughout the sixties, but they’ve never held onto that popularity.  Every few years, some westerns come out that try to reinvigorate the genre and get more people to watch westerns.  It usually doesn’t succeed.  LA Confidential attempted to do the same sort of resurrection of a genre, but with a different genre.  With LA Confidential, the genre was noir films.  The golden age of noir films came even earlier than westerns.  Noir films were popular in the 1940s and 1950s.  There are many films after the 50s that might be considered noir, but LA Confidential harkens back to the traditional ideas of the genre, not only through plot, but through time.  It transplants us into the 1950s and tells the story in a way that makes it feel very much noir.  Now, you might completely disagree with everything I’ve just said in my very condensed way, and that’s fine.  I’m not hugely experienced in noir, and these broad statements are coming from the little bit of the genre that I’ve seen.  I do thing that there is some truth to what I am saying, however, and I would hope that you could give it some thought.

The actor that seemed to be making the most of the modernized classical noir feel of LA Confidential was Kevin Spacey.  This seems like a movie that was made for him to star in.  And he got the perfect role for himself in the film.  I’ve never been one to dislike Kevin Spacey.  There may be works of his that I dislike, but there aren’t performances of his that I dislike.  I’ve always found his acting solid, if not good, if not great in everything I’ve seen him in.  LA Confidential quickly moved up my list of favourite Kevin Spacey performances because of how well he played the part and how well the role fit his sensibilities.  It felt as though Kevin Spacey and Jack Vincennes were made for each other, and the match gave great results.

Kevin Spacey isn’t the only actor that was perfectly casted.  I fell like the entire movie was that way.  Russell Crowe was excellent as Bud White.  He portrayed both the physical nature and underlying emotional unrest to a near perfect degree.  Guy Pearce played a smart asshole to an extent in which you both hated him and related to him in different ways.  That’s a feat that should be commended.  Danny DeVito played the charm and sleaze of his character in a way that only he could have achieved.  And nobody says “Boyo” quite like James Cromwell.

LA Confidential is a movie that I would like to rewatch sometime.  I enjoyed it a lot.  Whoever suggested this one, thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  This is a movie that everyone should see.  It’s thrilling, it’s a mystery, it has great performances and good action.  It keeps you interested throughout.  Watch this movie.

Next up in the second annual Overlooked Movie Marathon is City of God, I think.  Let me check.  Nope.  Next up is Amelie.  City of God is the last movie of the marathon.  So the writing for Amelie will be up sometime soon.  Keep watching for when I get that up.