Confident 'L.A.' swaggers into greatness

Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce expose a core of corruption in "L.A. Confidential."

Los Angeles in the early '50s. The image is of a booming city, ready to shine in the spotlight of the newest medium, television. It's the city of opportunity, full of glamour, fulfilled dreams and "the best police force in the nation." That's the image.

The reality - a city full of corruption at the highest levels and squalor beneath the gloss - is what "L.A. Confidential" is concerned with. Based on the popular hard-boiled crime novel by James Ellroy, the film retains the same complex characters and darkly nostalgic atmosphere that made the book an international bestseller.

The extremely intricate plot revolves around three detectives who, though they don't realize it until much later, each get tangled up in different aspects of the same huge conspiracy. What is so refreshing about this mystery is that the characters are unique and fully developed, each bringing his own personal baggage and detective style to the story.

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	L.A. Confidential At Ann Arbor 1&2 and Showcase 4 stars

What's more, each must face a major moral or character dilemma before the show is over, which draws the audience right into the story with them. But there is an ingredient here even more powerful than the intelligent characterizations, and that is the strong, soulful and confident performances of the remarkable cast.

Kevin Spacey is Jack Vincennes, the celebrity cop. He is the kind of cool, suave detective that all boys (and even most men) want to grow up to be. He is the technical advisor on the biggest cop show on television, and he's in cahoots with Sid Hudgens (Danny DeVito), who runs the country's first celebrity gossip tabloid (and narrates our view of the underbelly of Hollywood).

Our other two detectives are Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), an honest, moral, by-the-book rookie, and Bud White (Russell Crowe), a justice-obsessed minor player who is known for his intimidation and strong-arm style. Pearce and Crowe, both relatively unknown Australians, manage impeccable American accents and superb star-making performances (especially Crowe, whose eyes just gleam with intensity). But it is Spacey who, once again, walks away with the most memorable performance as a man briefly trying to reclaim his integrity at great cost.

Kim Basinger dials "C" for conspiracy in "L.A. Confidential."

Because of its enormous complexity - and the risk of giving anything away - it would be impossible to recount the plot in any detail. Suffice it to say that it includes murder, betrayal, corruption, suspense, romance (with Kim Basinger in her most glamorous role to date), a great deal of subtle humor (and some not-so-subtle humor that will have the audience in tears) and one of the most tightly choreographed and surprisingly thrilling final shoot-outs in years. None of the characters are who they appear to be at first, much as the facade of the whole city is lifted to reveal a darker underside.

The inevitable comparison that most people will make is to "Chinatown," Roman Polanski's masterpiece about corruption in Los Angeles and the failure of a morally ambiguous man desperately trying to do the right thing. But a better comparison would be to a narratively intricate film like "The Usual Suspects." Both are clever, fast-paced mysteries that play with the conventions of plot and ask the audience to invest a lot in the complexities of the story.

The fact that both star Kevin Spacey is arbitrary, but the fact that "L.A. Confidential" will confuse the audience just as much as "The Usual Suspects" did is not, because the payoff here, though perfectly satisfying, cannot even compete with the raw thrill that was the finale of the latter film. What sets "L.A. Confidential" apart from that film is its focus not on likable criminals, but on often unlikable cops. While the film drags at times, it quickly picks up again and never loses sight of its center: these three morally ambiguous men desperately trying to do the right thing, and the absorbing performances that make up their intricately compelling story.

09-19-97