L.A. Confidential, based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, is a densely plotted film that pays homage to the kinds of noir pictures that also embrace labyrinth-esque plot. It is not easily followed - especially on a first viewing. But the brilliance of Curtis Hanson's movie is that none of it matters; like Chinatown before it, there's too much to relish; be it the production values, or the great performances from Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce. The movie's target is Hollywood excess, and the investigation of a diner shooting provides the film with a backbone with which to explore every facade of the dishonest and disturbing city that lies beneath all the glitz and glamour. As a crime movie, L.A. Confidential is never anything but gripping, but it also works as an action flick (wonderful action scenes) and as a buddy cop movie, too, as Crowe, Spacey and Pearce's very different cops must learn to work together to ensure justice.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
