Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
Hanson has made the film noir setting virtually another starring character.
– Jeff Strickler,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
4 Jun 2014
fresh:
L.A. Confidential isn't quite up there with Chinatown, but it's the closest thing to come down the Santa Monica Freeway in the last 23 years.
– Steven Rea,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
4 Jun 2014
fresh:
At the center of the movie are three mismatched cops with separately fueled ambitions, ferociously played by Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce. Their combined charisma almost smashes through the screen.
– Jami Bernard,
New York Daily News,
4 Jun 2014
fresh:
There are so many things to enjoy here. Director Curtis Hanson... keeps a complex story coherent and absorbing -- if bloody at the end.
– Desson Thomson,
Washington Post,
4 Jun 2014
fresh:
L.A. Confidential is a movie bull's-eye: noir with an attitude, a thriller packing punches. It gives up its evil secrets with a smile.