Staring Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, & Guy Pearce, Directed by Curtis Hanson, 2:18 (R).
This is one of my favorite movies in my personal catalog. It deals with police corruption and vice in Hollywood's Golden Era. It also has a laundry-list of starts who play their parts admirably. It's not really a mystery because most of the details are apparent, but the twists and turns that take you there are what make it worthwhile. The dialogue is also good.
The film is definitely stylized, with a Los Angeles that's actually more glamorous than Bugsy, another great film in a similar setting. While I enjoy this, it's artificial nature is also what makes the film. Police officers cavorting with celebrities and political figures with less control than the career counter-parts they lead. But underneath this all, there is a baseline of reality, with period abilities, technology, and appearance throughout.
I particularly like that the gentlemen tie their own ties--or at least they are tied differently for everyone. Kevin Spacey, when he has one, has a much different knot than James Cromwell, and that, to me, adds reality. I can say I've heard one wardrobist agree with me. Their tie knots, however, do not compliment their personalities nearly as much as their clothes do. Slick, playboy Spacey always wears odd jackets is a true dandy style, with pocket square too. Straight-laced, dull Pearce is always in a traditional suit with no flourish at all. Crowe wears mismatched odd jackets. Cromwell's clothes look as beat-up as he does, but without giving him away. The one thing that bothered me was that so many characters appeared to be wearing tweeds and flanels, in Los Angeles! Particularly Spacey, who would then turn around and be wearing an unlined, patch-pocket linen that night.
If you like period clothes, great acting, a good story, or all three of those, enjoy.
Rating:
Not the best