L.A. Confidential, 1997 - DVD

This is, by far, one of the most perfectly cast films I've ever seen. Not only is it perfectly cast, each and every one of the actors did a perfectly flawless job in their portrayal of James Ellroy's incredible characters.

L.A. Confidential is part three of Ellroy's LA Quartet. The others, in order, are The Black Dahlia (soon to be directed by Brian De Palma), The Big Nowhere and rounding out the four is White Jazz.

If you haven't read any of Ellroy's work, you're really missing out on something. You can see the transition in his earlier work, like Clandestine, the three Lloyd Hopkins novels, Brown's Requiem... they get better and better as his skills and knowledge of writing grew. I have yet to read anything as inspiring and thrilling as the LA Quartet... except for Ellroy's latest venture, a three part series detailing the 1960's. The first novel, American Tabloid, won Time Magazine's Novel of the Year in 1995, and it deserved it... just incredible. The follow-up is The Cold Six Thousand, equally amazing.

A quick tangent. I was working at this wine company, and around Christmas time I got a call from, it turned out, Ellroy, who was buying Christmas presents for his editors and such. We jabbered on for a few minutes about his work... it was the highlight of that Christmas, let me tell you...

Ok, enough of that. I just re-read Confidential for about the fourth time, before I popped the DVD in again. I'd seen the film in the theaters, seen it on dvd and then I let it sit for a while. There are some films you want to savour, and not watch when the feeling hits you. This is one of those films, to me. I don't want to get tired of it.

Now... I'm not going to spoil the book for you, but I will say that Hanson and Helgeland wrote an incredible script based on this novel. The work is just brilliant, and you can read that script here.

The thing is... this novel is enormous, encompassing years into the lives of Bud White, Ed Exley and Jack Vincennes. The novel delves incredibly deep into the affect their lives have on the people surrounding them, not to mention their obsessions with the Night Owl murders, the rape of Inez Soto and their own pasts.

This novel was originally going to be a television show, then a weekly cable show... and I have to say I would not be disappointed if either of those came to fruition. There is just sooooooo much missing from the novel, I can't even begin to tell you.

Now, I'm talking as a fan of the novel, so don't get me wrong. It's difficult to keep an unbiased opinion of a great work, something you've enjoyed countless times, when you see it cut to pieces on the big screen. Luckily, the task of adapting this novel fell into the hands of two very capable people.

The only film prior to Confidential of Hanson's that I'd seen was The Hand That Rocks the Cradle... and it was so long ago that I can't possibly comment on it. He also directed The River Wild, but that wasn't my cup of tea. At this time, 1997, I wasn't really concerned with the names of directors... though I knew a few. I was just interested in being entertained, and this film blew me away in the thaters.

I quickly learned Hanson's name when Wonder Boys came out... matched the name with this film, and was as impressed with his adaptation abilities with that film (taken from the novel by Michael Chabon, in which Ellroy has a quick, super quick appearance). I did not see 8 Mile.

Hanson's direction in this film is astounding. He had some serious help with the production team, the costume team, locations, set design... but I have a feeling that Hanson spent most of his time between the incredible cast and Dante Spinotti, the DP. Everyone did their jobs well.

Hanson must have been a serious fan of the novel... possibly the quartet in general. There are some scenes that breath Ellroy, some that fit the style and flash of the era, and some that develop the characters perfectly. All of them work seamlessly together to create Ellroy's world.

Helgeland is a great writer. His first work was on A Nightmare on Elm Street 4... then on to 976-EVIL and Highway to Hell. B movie stuff, but work. He would write the script for Assassins next, which kind of put him in the spotlight. A Stallone vehicle is good work. Confidential came next.

The two would take the meat of the characters in the novel, and take the basic plot to create the film. They got the three main characters down, along with the surrounding cast, including Dudley Smith, Ellis Loew, Lynn Bracken, Sid Hudgens, Pierce Patchett and even Buzz Meeks.

Using the basic plot of the novel and the majority of the characters, the two crafted a well contained (a Dudley word) story that fits inside the novel. I think the character development was the most important aspect of the script, to begin with. They changed around the histories of both Exley and Vincennes. Not too terribly, but off enough that these characters aren't the same driven characters from the novel.

Bud White is pretty much right on the money. The remaining characters, too, to a point. One character is substituted for another. One plot point is left out, so that it fits with something in the script. Characters are left out because too many will cause confusion.

Not too much of a problem, but a distinct problem if they ever want to shoot White Jazz.

Helgeland would follow this up with Conspiracy Theory, a great movie. The Postman... novel idea, bad execution. And, finally, Helgeland would get an opportunity to direct Mel Gibson in Payback. He would write the adaptation of Richard Stark's novel, and this movie is just great. Full tilt noir, and you can see where he gets his love for the genre... he's got a great eye for it.

I did not enjoy A Knight's Tale, but I can understand the novelty behind it. I have a hard time with period pieces using modern rock to enhance scenes... there's a similar scene in Shanghai Knights... it throws off the film for me. I know I'm being too critical, but that's just me. The film looks ok, is acted ok... but I thought it was just ok.

Helgeland would follow those two up with two more adaptations, both for Clint Eastwood. Blood Work and Mystic River, both I didn't catch. I know, I know...

But I did catch his next film, The Order... and I wish I hadn't. It's, by far, one of the worst films I've seen in a long time.

And, luckily, his latest film, Man On Fire, I caught as well, and loved that film. Helgeland has proven himself to be a very good writer, especially when adapting other works. He has a solid grip on the story and its characters... and is able to cleave a plot through even the densest material.

The two received an Oscar for their adaptation. Ellroy went on to dedicate his collection of shorts called Crime Wave to Hanson.

Perfect cast. After having seen his work in Romper Stomper, Hanson decided to use Russell Crowe for Bud White. The studio was a little concerned about having two Australian's in the film... the other being Guy Pearce, but I don't think they had anything to worry about.

It's funny, but I've seen a few Crowe films pre-Confidential, Virtuosity, No Way Back and The Quick and the Dead... and he had absolutely no accent. I've loved his work in The Insider and Gladiator, but I tuned out when he started to let the fame get to his head. I didn't see Proof of Life, I've watched A Beautiful Mind on cable, and I just bought Master and Commander... so I'll get to that soon.

Suffice it so say, he was Bud White.

Prior to Confidential, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was the only other Pearce film I'd seen of his, and I enjoyed that immensly. He was pretty much an unknown, but he certainly had the look. Again, Exley was a character that was pared down seriously from the novel... and, having read it before viewing, I was dying to see Pearce in full Exley fashion. I think he would have been even better than he was (no simple act)... but, alas, Pearce has turned into a wonderful actor. I loved his work on Memento and just recently saw him in the Australian crime film The Hard Word, which is worth checking out.

I forgave Kevin Spacey for K-PAX, and I really haven't seen anything he's been in since... other than that, I've enjoyed everything he's been in prior to K-PAX, starting with Working Girl. Swimming with Sharks was the first time I'd noticed Spacey outright... though this was after Glengarry Glen Ross, which really lifted his career up, along with The Ref. He would win an Oscar for The Usual Suspects, scare the shit out of us in Se7en, and would direct his first film in 1996, Albino Aligator, which wasn't a bad movie at all. Confidential would follow, along with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Negotiator (a great movie), Hurlyburly (never saw it), A Bug's Life and would, again, win another award for American Beauty.

I would have to say that Spacey's character in this film gets shorted, even though he's a cool character. He's not half the mess he is in the novel, which I thought was essential to his rise from the ashes... but Helgeland and Hanson changed his character around the most, and what we get isn't bad. It just isn't a full fledged Jack Vincennes... which is too bad. Spacey is still able to charm us, develop the character into someone we like and hope makes it to the end. I was very impressed with his work in this film, and was surprised to see that he wasn't nominated.

Another actor who WAS his character is James Cromwell as Dudley Smith. Holy cow, man... if ever there was a perfect casting choice, this is it. I can't help but think of these actors in their respective roles when I read these novels, and Smith is in all of them. Cromwell is pictured in my mind every time Smith makes an entrance.

Kim Basinger won an Oscar for her portrayal as Lynn Bracken, the hooker who looks like Veronica Lake. I thought she did an excellent job in this film, and her character is one of the closest to the novels. This is one of the few memorable times I can remember a performace by Basinger (besides Batman), except for My Stepmother Is an Alien... her having sex with Dan Aykroyd has been burned into my mind. I did hear, though, that a body double was used... and that shattered my image of Basinger for years.

Danny DeVito, David Strathairn and Ron Rifkin round out the remaining major players in this film, and all do grand jobs.

I can't say enough about his impressive this cast is. They all got a real feel for their characters, and they helped create that much better a film.

Two people I would like to comment on who were behind the scenes. One is Dante Spinotti, one of the better cinematographers in the business.

His first major mainstream film was Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann. Spinotti and Mann would work together on The Last of the Mohicans, Heat and The Insider. Spinotti would also work on the remake of Manhunter in 2002, Red Dragon. A good looking film, but far inferior to the original.

Spinotti has a nice style. He flip-flops from genre to genre seamlessly. From the Hip to Beaches... True Colors to a highly stylized action film, Hudson Hawk. Mohicans to Nell to The Quick and the Dead. The Mirror has Two Faces to Confidential. Wonder Boys, The Family Man, Bandits... he's all over, and this is a credit to him. He's able to work under different circumstances, different direction, different moods, different lighting scenarios that go from action to humor to grief, all of them right on target.

Spinotti has been nominated twice for Oscars, one for Confidential, the other for The Insider. Let's hope he gets another great project under his belt soon, so he can pick up a much deserved award.

I also want to talk about is the team of Jeannine Claudia Oppewall (art director), Jay Hart (set designer). These two helped create Ellroy's version of the 1950's, while sticking nicely to reality. The elaborate sets of the Victory Motel, the police station, Fluer de Lis... not to mention the scenes depicting old LA, the art direction, down to the simplest details of Lynn Bracken's bedroom and Dudley Smith's kitchen... whew!

Oppewall has been working in film since 1980. She was one of the set designers on De Palma's Blow Out, and worked her way up to production designer in a large number of films including The Big Easy, Music Box, White Palace, School Ties, The Vanishing, The Bridges of Madison County, Primal Fear, Pleasantville, Snow Falling on Cedars, Wonder Boys, The Sum of All Fears, Catch Me If You Can and Seabiscuit. She's been nominated for three Oscars (two of them shared with Hart; Confidential and Pleasantville, the third shared with Leslie Pope on Seabiscuit). Very talented.

Jay Hart has been working with Oppewall for a number of years, since Losing Isaiah in 1995. Hart would start his work on Wayne's World in 1992 and go on to do more mainstream films tha Oppewall. Striking Distance, Wayne's World 2, Clear and Present Danger, Virtuosity, Phenomenon, Fight Club, Swordfish, Punch-Drunk Love, T3: Rise of the Machines... he's also working on Spider-man 2 as a Set Decorator. Fantastic work, though I will say that his only two nominations were working with Oppewall... the two do great work together... and it's incredibly apparant with this film.

The art direction and set design help perfect this movie, and my hat is off to both of them. Under lesser talents, this movie would have suffered.

One of the best adaptations I've seen... I would call this 'inspired by', though that really wouldn't make much sense, since the three main characters, the basic plot of the novel and the supporting cast of characters are all accounted for. Ok, so it shouldn't be called 'inspired by.' Fine, I agree... I hope, though, that we do get a full version of Ellroy's Quartet. I hope it's as inspired and creative and unique as this film.