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L.A. Confidential (R, 1997)

common sense media says

Dense, tangled period cop drama for adults.

parents & educators say
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this isn't a thrill-ride cops-a-go-go actioner for kids. Laden with vicious homicide, numerous subplots and multiple characters, it depicts deep police-force corruption and entrenched brutality in law-enforcement. Even its "heroic" policemen are badly flawed, self-serving characters. One crusades chivalrously against assailants who batter women; yet he himself becomes one, out of sexual jealousy. Swear words flow thicker than the bloody wounds, and there is much talk of prostitution and sex.

Positive messages: With cops like these, who needs gangsters? Police use bullying, blackmail and frame-up tactics against suspects, showing particular hatred for minorities. One police character says planting evidence and using brutality is standard for how cop detectives operate. Though technically "good" guys, Exley and White have their ruthless dark sides and both sleep with the same glamour-girl prostitute, though they manage to set aside their hatred for each other in the end.
Violence: Vicious beat-downs, gun-downs, men riddled bloodily with machine-gun and shotgun blasts. People with slashed wrists/throats/legs; bloody bodies pile up after a massacre. A rotted, rat-eaten corpse. The heroine is slapped around by a boyfriend.
Sex: Revealing clothing and brief female nudity, in bed (including a tied-up rape victim) and in the morgue. References to masturbation and pornography. Hints of kinky sex. The heroine is a working prostitute.
Language: "F--k" and "s--t" uttered frequently, and a lot of derogatory terms for women.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Social drinking that results in a violent, drunken brawl. Talk and depiction of marijuana, heroin, and cocaine.
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More on L.A. Confidential

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the time period of the early 1950s, and the parallels between this script's scandal-sheet Hush-Hush with the real-life one called Confidential. Research crime/showbiz scandals of the time (the Web has the juicy details), about the Johnny Stompanato murder, and how Confidential magazine went too far. Are popular gossip Web sites such as TMZ.com just as bad today or not?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Based on a book by leading crime author James Ellroy, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL recreates a Los Angeles in the 1950s where organized crime, corruption, and Hollywood culture mingled. Saga-like narrative (hard)boils down to three gutsy, basically honest but flawed LAPD officers. Hot-tempered Bud White (Russell Crowe) knows he's not smart, but he has an elemental anger towards lawbreakers -- especially those who abuse women and children -- and a fierce loyalty to the department. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) moonlights as technical advisor/inspiration to a TV police show (a takeoff on the original Dragnet and it's gone to his head. Rookie Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) is a brilliant sleuth but tactless and ruthless in his career aims. Their busy caseloads and personal lives converge on the mystery of a grisly diner massacre (in which White's partner was among the slain) connected to massive police/City Hall/drugs/blackmail corruption. Added complication: White and Exley hate each other and are having passionate affairs with the same movie-star-lookalike prostitute (Kim Basinger).

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Though it comes highly praised by critics (seemingly the target audience, given all the knowing Tinseltown references), L.A. Confidential makes a lot of the same moves as a lot of lesser police actioners. Heroes who take beatings that would put anyone else in ICU, then heal up instantly; LAPD so criminal they make the mafia look wimpy; and the paternal chief who turns out to be the worst villain. Plus, after all the sinister twists and turns, an ending where everybody shoots everybody and lives happily ever after.

So why all the Academy Award nominations? The terrific 1950s California mood, dialog, and performances (winning an Oscar for Kim Basinger) are what make L.A. Confidential a standout adult drama. Plus there's the complex and fascinating relationship between cops Exley and White, who confront the worst aspects of themselves and nearly kill each other, only to end up allies.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Warner Home Video
Director: Curtis Hanson
Cast: Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, Russell Crowe
Genre: Drama
Run time: 156 minutes
Theatrical release: September 19, 1997
DVD release: September 23, 2008
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: strong violence, language and sexuality
This review was written by Charles Cassady Jr.
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

thejokerspencil
parent of and 3 , 11 , 12 , 17 year old
15
 
Great Sets,Great Score,Great Acting must equal Great Movie?
Wrong. This film was made outstanding and the actors in this are the best of the best but it does not live up to all the hype.
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helped me decide (8) | had useful details (8) | read my mind (9)
who3697cares
teen, 18 years old
17
 
If the shootout didn't seem like an attempt to bring in more audience members, if the plot was rearranged in flashback form to add to the post-noir effect, and if it didn't seem so full of itself, L.A. Confidential would be perfect.
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helped me decide (11) | had useful details (6) | read my mind (6)
evolinag
teen, 15 years old
12
 
A good cop movie with terrific actors!
The movie focuses on 3 cops and a prostitute. I think it is clear that with this protagonists the movie has violence and sex as thematic element. But there is never anything strong or inapproriate for mature tweens. Some corpses are shown, sometimes bloody, sometimes decaying. The scenes are not disturbing. The character played by Russel Crowe is rude and a bit violent, but in contrast to him the character played by Guy Pearce is calm and gently. The role played by Kevin Spacey is neutral. The violence is never depicted in a way it could disturb or harm tweens. The movies has a prostitute as one of the protagonists, so there is sexual talk. No strong sexuality is depicted. The language is average R-profanity. If you don't mind the language, it is suitable for viewers 12 and up. And nowadays it would have been rated 15 in the UK and Ireland, not 18. Kim Basinger really deserved the Oscar she got for her role. Also Guy Pearce and Russel Crowe did an excellent job. Kevin Spacey is a very good actor, but this is not his best role, though not bad. Overall, a good and well made thriller.
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