L.A. Confidential [Blu-ray]

This was the best film made in '97 but like "Chinatown," another noir, it is destined to become one of the finest movies not to take the Oscar home. Curtis Hanson took James Ellroy's novel, a book many doubted could be translated to the film medium, and crafted one of the finest adapted screenplays ever written. He then brought on board a couple of Aussie unknowns, a gorgeous star who had never lived up to her potential, and one of the finest actors working in film today. He then began filming one of the darkest noir films of all time in the blinding L.A. sun.

The end result is a dark and twisted tale of personal redemption told against the backdrop of the bright lights and sunshine of Hollywood in the early 1950's. Hanson contrasted the brightly lit exteriors with Ellroy's dark storyline of police corruption and Hollywood decadence. This is a movie about facade, not just Hollywood's but our own personal front as well.

Russell Crowe became a star as Detective Bud White, a tough cop willing to do whatever was necessary, which was in stark contrast to his politically minded colleague Guy Pearce. He finds Bud archaic, representing everything about the force he wants to change. What may stop him from doing so is his investigation into the murder of several people at The Night Owl cafe, one of whom is Crowe's partner, kicked off the force after a well publicized jail brawl christened given the handle "Bloody Christmas" by the papers.

Crowe and Pearce come at it from different angles but the road for both leads right to beautiful Kim Basinger and a millionaire in the lush Hollywood hills played by David Strathairn. There is a reason Basinger looks a little like Veronica Lake the first time we see her in this film; she's supposed to. Hollywood legend has it that a string of expensive call girls were cut to look like stars during the 1940's and early 1950's and Hanson has made this darker side of Hollywood part of the story. Basinger is one of the lucky ones; close enough to the actual look of Veronica Lake not to have been cut on.

Crowe falls for the real girl inside Basinger, but in spite of her opulent lifestyle, her low self-esteem comes to the forefront when she sleeps with Pearce in an attempt to "help" Crowe. We realize as she nearly destroys Crowe by doing so that she perceives herself as a whore on the inside, beneath the facade. Her logic is as twisted and tainted as the corruption Crowe and Pierce are about to uncover as they follow the trail linking Basinger's boss Strathairn to the Night Owl killings and the vice surrounding them on every side.

Basinger may have garnered the Oscar for her role, but Crowe's performance as the tough cop with some soft spots after all is something you'll always remember. The coolest job done here, however, is by Kevin Spacey. Hanson told him before filming began to think Dean Martin and he'd have it down pat. Spacey did just that, playing the ultra cool cop, the one in the tabloids for his Hollywood connections. He is a consultant on the TV show "Badge of Honor" (think Dragnet) and is hooked up with slimy but likeable Danny DeVito, a writer for a Hollywood tabloid. Spacey grabs the spotlight and DeVito gets the headlines as Spacy collars Hollywood stars in compromising situations, DeVito's camera flashing.

Spacey seemingly has it all, but like the rest of this film, it is just a facade. While sitting in a bar listening to Dean Martin in the background he looks up into the mirror behind the counter and doesn't like what is staring back at him. He has all the tools to be a great cop but he knows he has sold his soul for the fifty in front of him. He becomes involved in the case because of a murder in a hotel room he feels responsible for that leads right back to the Night Owl, and hooks up with Pearce to redeem his soul. You will never forget the name "Rollo Tomasi" or what it means for Pearce, and ultimately Spacey in this film.

Adding to the atmosphere more than just a little is the score by Jerry Goldsmith, his finest work since "Chinatown" and just as haunting. It does more than help enhance the atmosphere, it truly is the atmosphere of this one of a kind masterpiece. This film has the kind of ending dreams are made of and someone holding up their badge to the oncoming rush of cop cars in the Hollywood hills at night is a scene you'll never forget.

There is not a bad performance in this film. It is complex and riveting. This is a region two edition for those who need that venue. If you haven't seen this before, don't rent it, buy it. You'll watch it over and over. But don't tell anyone. This is Off the Record, On the QT, and Very Hush Hush!

It's important to say at the outset that the video and sound quality of this DVD are superb, and this for a re-release of a film done in the nineties. The production itself is exquisite, with sets, cars, clothes, and dialogue that perfectly evokes the Los Angeles of 1953. James Ellroy's book was long, tedious, loaded with subplots, and an interminable read. The script for the film picks the strongest characters and subplots, reweaving them into a largely new story which stands on its own. The last time I recall this happening was with The Godfather in 1971, and Mario Puzo collaborated on that screenplay. It's a good thing Ellroy is nowhere to be found on the credits for this one. LA Confidential is notable for being the US debut of Russell Crowe in the role of Bud White, and an auspicious debut it was. Kevin Spacey is wonderful as cop-on-the-take Jack Vincennes, and when he drove up in his green '53 Studebaker Starliner coupe I said, "YES!!! These guys know what they're doing!!!" And they do.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  5.0 out of 5 stars