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7/30/2019 La_Confidential

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La Confidential

By Naomi Abraham


2/5

Initial release: September 19, 1997 (USA)

Director: Curtis Hanson

Story by: James Ellroy

Screenplay: Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson

L.A. Confidentialis a 1997 neo-noir film based on James Ellroys 1990 novel of the sametitle, the third book in his L.A. Quartet series. Both the book and the film tell the story of agroup of LAPD officers in the year 1953, and the intersection of police corruption andHollywood celebrity. The title refers to the 1950s scandal magazine Confidential, portrayedin the film as Hush-Hush. The film adaptation was produced and directed by Curtis Hanson

and co-written by Hanson and Brian Helgeland. At the time, actors Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe were relatively unknown in North

America, and one of the film's backers, Peter Dennett, was worried about the lack ofestablished stars in the lead roles. However, he supported Hanson's casting decisions andthis gave the director the confidence to approach Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, and DannyDeVito.

Critically acclaimed, the film holds a 99% rating at Rotten Tomatoes with 85 out of 86

reviews positive and average rating of 8.6 out of 10, as well as an aggregated rating of 90%based on 28 reviews on Metacritic. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and wontwo, Basinger for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Hanson and Helgeland for BestWriting (Adapted Screenplay).

What is L.A Confidential?


3/5

Plot of L.A Confidential

Against the backdrop of Los Angeles in 1953, three LAPD officers become caught up incorruption, sex and murder following a multiple homicide at the Nite Owl coffee shop.Their story expands to encompass organized crime, political corruption, narcotics,pornography, prostitution, tabloid journalism and institutional racism.

Sergeant Edmund "Ed" Exley (Pearce), the son of a legendary LAPD detective, isdetermined to live up to his father's reputation. His intelligence, insistence on followingregulations, and his cold demeanor contribute to his social isolation from other officers.He exacerbates this resentment by volunteering to testify in a police brutality case (basedon the real-life Bloody Christmas incident), insisting on a promotion to DetectiveLieutenant (which he receives) against the advice of Captain Dudley Smith (Cromwell). It isrevealed that Ed's consuming ambition is fueled in large part by the murder of his fatherby an unknown assailant.

Officer Wendell "Bud" White (Crowe), whom Ed considers a "mindless thug," is aplainclothes officer violently obsessed with punishing woman-beaters. Bud comes todislike Ed after his partner, Dick Stensland, is fired due to Ed's testimony in the "Bloody

Christmas" scandal. Bud is sought out by Dudley for a job intimidating out-of-towncriminals trying to fill the void left in L.A. following the imprisonment of Mickey Cohen,the city's most successful and notorious gangster. The Nite Owl case becomes personalafter Stensland is found to be one of the victims.


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Plot of L.A Confidential (Continued)

Sergeant Jack Vincennes (Spacey) is a slick and likable narcotics detective who moonlightsas the technical advisor on Badge of Honor, a popular Dragnet-type TV crime program. Heis also connected with Sid Hudgens (DeVito), publisher ofHush-Hush magazine, receivingkickbacks for tipping Sid off to celebrity arrests that will attract even more readers to themagazine. When a young actor winds up dead during one of these schemes, a guilt-riddenJack is determined to find who did it.

At different intervals, the three men investigate the Nite Owl killings and concurrentevents which in turn begin to reveal indications of corruption all around them. Ed pursuesabsolute justice, all the while trying to live up to his family name. Bud pursues Nite Owlvictim Susan Lefferts, which leads him to Lynn Bracken (Basinger), a Veronica Lake look-alike prostitute with ties to the case he and Ed are independently investigating.Meanwhile, Jack follows up on a pornography racket with ties to both the Nite Owl andLynn's handler Pierce Patchett (Strathairn), operator of Fleur-de-Lis, a call-girl service thatruns prostitutes altered by plastic surgery to resemble popular film stars. All three men'sfates are intertwined. A dramatic showdown eventually occurs with powerful and corruptforces within the city's political leadership and the department.


5/5

Cast of L.A Confidential

Kevin Spacey as Det. Sgt. Jack Vincennes

Russell Crowe as Officer Wendell "Bud" White

Guy Pearce as Det. Lt. Edmund "Ed" Exley

James Cromwell as Capt. Dudley Smith

Kim Basinger as Lynn Bracken

Danny DeVito as Sid Hudgens

David Strathairn as Pierce Morehouse Patchett

Ron Rifkin as District Attorney Ellis Loew

Graham Beckel as Det. Richard "Dick" Stensland

Amber Smith as Susan Lefferts

John Mahon as Police Chief Worton

Paul Guilfoyle as Meyer "Mickey" Cohen

Matt McCoy as Brett Chase

Paolo Seganti as Johnny Stompanato

Simon Baker as Matt Reynolds

Shawnee Free Jones as Tammy Jordan Darrell Sandeen as Leland "Buzz" Meeks

Marisol Padilla Snchez as Inez Soto

Gwenda Deacon as Mrs. Lefferts

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