In 1940s Los Angeles, two former boxers-turned-cops must grapple with corruption, narcissism, stag films and family madness as they pursue the killer of an aspiring young actress.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 4 wins & 16 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
rotten:
Ellroy's prose crawls into characters' secret hearts and under the reader's skin, but its foetid horrors become kitschy here, the script too streamlined and the lead performances too shallow to dredge the story's depths.
– Ben Walters,
Time Out,
23 Sep 2006
fresh:
The pairing of Ellroy and De Palma proves a marriage made in hardboiled heaven.
– Nathan Rabin,
AV Club,
23 Sep 2006
rotten:
The picture is a kind of fattened goose that's been stuffed with goose-liver pate. It's overrich and fundamentally unsatisfying.
– David Denby,
New Yorker,
23 Sep 2006
rotten:
This is far from one of the director's better efforts and should be avoided by all those who are not sworn De Palma boosters.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
23 Sep 2006
rotten:
Mr. De Palma and his collaborators have been unable to translate Mr. Ellroy's depth of feeling into cinematic equivalents.