My 40 Favorite Films of the 90's - 35 - L.A. Confidential (1997)

L.A. Confidential (1997; Warner Bros.)

Director: Curtis Hanson

Writers: Brian Helgeland,  Curtis Hanson

Starring: Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger

Curtis Hanson’s film adaptation of James Ellroy’s novel is an exploration of politics and corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1950’s.  Focusing on the investigation of a multiple homicide at a diner, the story reveals the investigation of this brutal crime from four perspectives: A sleazy tabloid writer and his LAPD celebrity detective ally, a crooked cop, and a young idealist.  The murders seem to lead in many different directions including a group of teens who abducted an Hispanic girl, a corrupt cop’s illicit dealings and a brothel specializing in celebrity lookalikes.  

Putting a simple label on the plot of L.A. Confidential, I would say it is a study of how corruption leaves death in its wake as it corrupts as many as it can in its path.  It shows us how the few corrupted by power can bleed everyone beneath them for more of that power and how even the most just men can be seduced by the promise of a medal, a photo-op and a prestigious label.  However, the story is much more complex than a simple few sentences can describe.

The interweaving stories are set into motion after a detective named Dick Stensland is identified as a victim in the dining shooting.  Edmund Exley (Guy Pearce) is a young cop who wants to keep the investigation on the up and up, but he is constantly in conflict with the violent and trigger happy Bud White (Russell Crowe), Stensland’s former partner.  White finds himself caught up in a part of the investigation leading to an illicit escort service through a romance with a call girl named Lynn (Kim Basinger).  A media-hungry celebrity cop named Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) uses his considerable connections to pull his weight in uncovering who was truly behind the killings.  Misdirections and dead ends abound in the investigation, as the officers are constantly deceived by everyone, including people in their own department.  Ultimately, the investigation leads to answers that get Exley and White in deeper than they had ever expected.

The film benefits from a considerable supporting cast including Danny DeVito, David Strathairn,  James Cromwell, Matt McCoy and Ron Rifkin and while it does tend to meander about quite a bit, it has a solid screenplay.  The branching plotlines tend to veer a little too much at times and there are way too many characters, many of which ultimately have little-to-nothing to do with the actual plot.  Obviously attempting a film Noir style, L.A. Confidential misses many of the key elements of Noir.  The narration is told to us through the perspective of tabloid writer Sid Hudgens, who is not directly involved with any but one of the major characters, so we are not able to get the traditional Film Noir introspection on first impressions of characters and events.  In fact, of the numerous characters in the film, there are several that could have made a better narrator than Hudgens and there would have still been issues with perspective.  

Needless to say, L.A. Confidential is not a perfect film.  It is an entertaining movie though, full of elements you would expect from a mid-20th century mystery film but with much more sex, drugs and violence thrown in the mix.  It has a rough edge to it that makes it cast a shadow over the idealized 1950’s of classic cinema and the performances of Pearce, Spacey and Crowe make up for any plot detours and slow pacing.  It is a solid procedural piece told with an aggressive style and lot of polish.  

Film Review - Argo (2012)

Argo (2012; Warner Bros. Pictures)

Historical thrillers are a very difficult genre to be truly successful with.  Some, like All the President’s Men and the Conversation stand out as taught historical work that were timely for their day.  However, what about movies that are giving us an account of events that occurred more than 30 years ago?  How do you make a movie tense and captivating when, it is assumed at least, we already know the outcome?  It is not an easy task, and that is why many political thrillers are long exercises in mediocrity; overproduced, all-star powerhouses with screenplays compiled from some facts but written entirely with creative license.  Argo is not one of these movies.

In fact, I would go so far as to call Ben Affleck’s latest film the best film I’ve seen so far this year.  Now, with other promising titles coming up, like Lincoln and Django Unchained, I would be hard-pressed to make this assertion with any promise that my opinion will not change before December 31st.  However, with a year featuring knockout-good action movies like Looper and the Avengers, it seemed like the more paced, cerebral drama (which is a little more my taste but I love a good fun movie as much as the next guy) may have taken a backseat in 2012.  That is, until Argo.  

Argo follows the unbelievable true story that was kept a secret for roughly two decades until Bill Clinton finally declassified the mission so that Americans can take it all in.  The insanity, the brilliance and the narrow success.  The center is an agent named Tony Mendez (Affleck) who specializes in the extraction of citizens from dangerous and volatile scenarios.  His mission: The extraction of the six remaining workers from U.S. Embassy that was overrun by the Iran Contra as anti-American sentiment among the government of Iran it its people was growing by the day.  Tony plans to throw together a fake Canadian film production in hopes of getting into the tumultuous Iran attracting as little suspicion as possible. He arrives in the country alone and must convincingly leave with six additional passengers in tow, hoping to outsmart various government goons along the way.

This is a movie with a nice large cast filled with skilled character actors and rising stars.  Minor roles are filled by the likes of Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, and character actor Zeljko Ivanek (a personal favorite of mine).  Everyone plays their parts distinctly and the strong performances by the talented cast, along with the very funny naturalistic screenplay make this one a winner through and through.  Add to that the amazing use of real tension as the breathtaking scenes of the intrepid heroes attempting to outsmart the bureaucrats and evade violent and angry protesters by pain of death steal the show.

Argo is the kind of movie that deserves to be seen.  I know that next month millions of shallow teens will flock to theaters to see the “finale” to the Twilight “saga” and I just know that Argo’s returns will dwarf in comparison to the fiscal results of the Tween-centric insipid blight on cinema that is Twilight.  This thought makes me lose sleep at night.  Still, I take solace in the knowledge that in roughly twenty years, this movie will likely be remembered, and Twilight will hopefully be long forgotten.

Anyway, see Argo.  See it.  It is a strong film to kick off the holiday film season and a great historical drama that successfully transports us to another time and immerses us in its intrigue with great performances and a brilliant screenplay.  Look for Oscar nods to this movie, people.  It deserves it.