Starring: Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe Featuring: Kevin Spacey, Danny Devito and Kim Basinger

Off the record, on the QT, and strictly... Hush-Hush.

            I finally got to see what all the fuss was about. I have been getting e-mails and comments as to why I didn't have anything about L.A. Confidential on my webpage... well the reason was I hadn't seen it. But now I understand why everyone must have thought I was nuts. L.A. Confidential is the best mystery movies I have seen in a long time, maybe ever. I had heard people raving about it, but the trailers and commercials didn't really make me want to rush out and see it... I just figured it was that one Best Picture nominee that didn't deserve it as much as the others. After seeing the movie, I understand I was totally wrong.

Danny Devito and Kevin Spacey "create" some news

            One great thing about this movie is it stars relatively unknown actors in it's major leading roles... Guy Pearce as Ed Exley, and Russell Crowe as Bud White (which sounds like someone who has a lisp ordering a beer). Sure it also has Danny Devito, Kevin Spacey and Kim Basinger along with a bunch of other faces you are sure to recognize... but the characters you see in the most action are Exley and White. These "unknowns" each put in an excellent performance to upstag their more famous supporting cast.

            Ed Exley is the ambiscious young police officer who is on the rise in the L.A.P.D. Determined to become a detective, and to get out of the shadow of his legendary father, Exley is driven to succeed. Bud White is the established detective... known more for his brawn than his brains; his specialty is showing women beaters what it is like to receive a beating. After the press gets the news of the police beating up some Mexican inmates, the department starts looking for heads. Exley offers up the plain that gets White's parter fired (a year before pension) and White demoted, while he is promoted to a full detective in homicide. Needless to say, Bud White is not to fond of Ed Exley.

Russel Crowe as Bud White and Guy Pearce as Ed Exley

            Hated by his fellow police officers for being a snitch, Exley is even more determined to do his job better than anyone... and after an apparent robbery/murder in the Night Owl Cafe, he gets his chance. After solving the case, and killing the suspects in a shootout while attempting to capture them, Exley is awarded the Medal of Valor, and finally respected by his peers. But the case doesn't seem as simple as that for both Exley and White. As they discover more and more about the case, the more they realize that this was a huge cover up involving someone nobody would have expected.

            I guess it doesn't really sound all that great when you look at it written down like this. That is probably why I didn't think it would be that great... but L.A. Confidential is just one of those movies that you have to see to understand how great it really is. Just trust me, if you like suspense and action, you will be glad you went to see this movie.

Rating

5 out of 5 stars

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