L.A. Confidential

Movie review by Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media
L.A. Confidential Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 17+

Dense, tangled period cop drama for adults.

R 1997 156 minutes
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Parents say

age 16+

Based on 3 reviews

Kids say

age 15+

Based on 4 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

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.

Community Reviews

BeamyApple
BeamyApple Adult
October 8, 2020
age 16+

Goddamn this movie is great.

You can't trust anything about “The City of Angels”. Anyone can be bribed, or blackmailed… or killed. L.A. Confidential is an exciting homage to pulp noire and it was just as entertaining upon rewatch as the first time I saw it. All the archetypes are there, the femme fatale, the bad cop, the corrupt politician, but the amazing cast brings so much life into these characters. The setting of the police station allows for great interactions, as I love watching characters who can’t stand each other, have to work together. One minute detectives are fist fighting, the next they are cracking the case. Then to cap it all off you get a banger shootout.
ryan_craw
ryan_craw Adult
April 8, 2020
age 16+

A Modern Noir Masterpiece

The plot adaptation is brilliant, the acting is on point, and the cinematography and production design make it a classic.
See all 3 parent reviews

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?

Though it comes highly praised by critics, L.A. Confidential makes a lot of the same questionable 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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • 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?

Movie Details

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