L.A. Confidential (or maybe Black Dahlia)

Both movies belong to that four-part series by James Ellroy, which includes the recent Black Dahlia movie too... 😁

L.A. Confidential takes place in the early 50s. You’ve got this Hollywood celebrity detective played by Kevin Spacey, a straight-edge cop played by Guy Pierce, a gritty, rough-around-the-edges detective who's actually a total sweetheart to women played by Russell Crowe, a high-class escort played by Kim Basinger, and an early-days paparazzi played by Danny DeVito...

There’s a whole lineup of great characters here. The vibe is spot on and honestly, the whole thing is just a killer movie.

I caught Black Dahlia in theaters a few years back, but I finally sat down with this one yesterday. Man, I really missed out before—this flick is absolutely stellar! 👍

Richard Wilson4 said:I caught Black Dahlia in theaters a few years back—but I finally sat down to watch it properly yesterday—and man, I really missed out before, because this movie is just incredible! 👍

A lot of people might disagree with me here, but I've gotta say... I'm on board. My only real gripe is the lead actor—he was just off, in every sense of the word.

Nicholas Walker3 said:A lot of people aren't feeling this, but I am... honestly, the only bummer is that the lead actor was just bad. In every single way.

Man, I was actually talking up L. A. Dahlia.

Black Dahlia is a solid flick, but I always felt like it was missing something... 🤷

PS
Kevin Spacey was killer in this, and Danny DeVito too. Even Simon Baker from The Mentalist pops up in a small role as this washed-up actor/male gay prostitute...

THX said:Which parts are people disagreeing on? 😕

And who did you pick as the lead—basically, out of that Pearce-Crowe-Spacey trio, who was the weak link?

I'm talking about Black Dahlia...

Richard Wilson4
I actually thought you loved Black Dahlia—but looking back at what you wrote, I see you were raving about L.A., yet you didn't really say anything about the Black Dahlia itself. 🤣

L.A. Confidential is a top-tier example of hard-boiled noir, and Ellroy's intricate, layered existential crime novel, Black Dahlia, would have clearly fared much better under the direction of Polanski, Mann, or perhaps even Hanson; instead, De Palma butchered it just as he did Betty Short in his film.

To put it plainly, Ellroy's prose is simply too dense and complex to be reduced to a shallow, postmodern stylistic exercise.

I’m a massive Ellroy fan; everything he touches interests me. The Quartet—Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz—is basically the peak of crime noir. Bringing a book of that scale down to a two-hour runtime while actually keeping the plot coherent is an incredibly difficult feat. The fact that Black Dahlia is such a mess proves just how hard that task is. I'm still reeling from how disappointing that movie was. When I heard that one of my favorite directors, De Palma, was tackling an adaptation of one of my favorite books by my favorite author, I was over the moon. That happiness didn't last long. Sure, the film looks stunning, but that’s just what I expect from De Palma. What I can't forgive is the fact that after reading that absolute garbage of a script, he actually said, "Hmm, yeah, this seems like a good idea." Fuck you, Brian.

BTW, Joe Carnahan (Narc) is prepping an adaptation of White Jazz for 2012. I won't bet the house on it being better than L.A. Confidential, but it won't be hard to beat Black Dahlia.

Justin Myers22 said:I'm a massive Ellroy fan, so I'm obsessed with pretty much everything he touches. The Quartet—Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz—is basically the gold standard for crime noir. Honestly, L.A. Confidential the movie is a masterclass in screenwriting. Trying to squeeze that massive amount of plot into just over two hours while actually making sense is a nightmare. Black Dahlia just goes to show how impossible that task is... I'm still reeling from how much that movie let me down. When I heard that one of my favorite directors, De Palma, was tackling an adaptation of one of my favorite books by my favorite author, I was on cloud nine. That feeling didn't last long. Sure, the movie looks incredible, but that's just what I expect from De Palma. What I can't forgive him for is the fact that after reading that absolute train wreck of a script, he actually said, "Hmm, yeah, this seems like a good idea." Fuck you, Brian.

BTW, Joe Carnahan (Narc) is working on a White Jazz adaptation for 2012. I won't bet the house that it beats L.A. Confidential, but it shouldn't be hard to beat Black Dahlia.

Looks like The Big Nowhere might be the last one (if ever) to get a movie version...

THX said:Which part are people fighting over? 😕

And who'd you pick as the lead here? Like, out of that Pearce-Crowe-Spacey trio, who's actually the weak link?

Anyway, I think Spacey is the best. He’s got so much charisma in the movie, it's unreal.

L.A. Confidential is a flawless film. One of the absolute best from the nineties.

Richard Wilson4 said:It looks like The Big Nowhere might be the last one ever adapted, if it happens at all...

Meanwhile, White Jazz has been stuck in pre-production for years... I wouldn't bet money on us seeing that hit screens by 2012.

Richard Wilson4 said:Anyway, which one was your favorite? Personally, I loved Spacey—he was absolutely brilliant in the movie.

They're all great, honestly, but I’d have to go with Crowe. His character arc felt the most well-developed.

I gotta say, de Vto is such a top-tier paparazzi/blackmailer type...

Nowadays, anyone can be a bottom-feeder with a smartphone glued to their hand. Those guys back then? They were actual pros... 😁

And man, that scene where the Guyev guy insults a legit actress because he thinks she's some hooker, while the total loser playing Spacey's part just sits there smirking... 😁🙏👍

I’m honestly bummed they didn't pick up the series after the pilot—judging by how that first episode went, it actually had some real potential! Though, I have to admit, the movie itself works pretty well as a standalone piece...

Justin Myers22 said:As a massive fan of James Ellroy, I find myself constantly chasing anything related to his work. The Quartet—comprised of Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz—represents the absolute pinnacle of crime noir. Adapting something that dense is a monumental task; L.A. Confidential is actually a masterclass in screenwriting because condensing such a massive tome into just over two hours while maintaining narrative integrity is incredibly difficult. The sheer messiness of Black Dahlia proves how hard that is. To be honest, I’m still reeling from how much of a letdown that film was. When I first heard that one of my favorite directors, Brian, was tackling an adaptation of one of my favorite books by my favorite author, I was over the moon. That happiness was short-lived. Visually, the film is stunning, but that’s to be expected from Brian. My real grievance—the thing I haven't forgiven him for—is that after reading what amounts to a total disaster of a script, he simply said, "Hmm, yeah, this seems like a good idea." Fuck you, Brian.

BTW, Joe Carnahan (Narc) is working on an adaptation of White Jazz for 2012. I wouldn't bet my life savings that it'll surpass L.A. Confidential, but it certainly won't be as bad as Black Dahlia.

Agreed. Black Dahlia stands as one of the biggest disappointments of the last decade. I approached the film with the wide-eyed excitement of a child, thinking Brian was finally operating in his element. I love Ellroy's work so much, and then... nothing but a mess.

Man, I’m getting back into the reading groove again. First up on my list is The Big Nowhere—pretty sure I can snag a copy around here... 🤷

Or maybe I should just dive into Dahlia first to fix my opinion of her...

wiredbison82 said:Yeah, Black Dahlia was easily one of the biggest letdowns of the last decade. I was hyped for it like a kid—thinking De Palma was finally back in his element, plus I'm a huge fan of Ellroy's work. Turns out, it was just a mess.

Look, the movie isn't actually *that* bad.
Sure, the hype was massive following "L.A. Confidential," especially with De Palma at the helm, but all things considered, it’s a decent flick.

I actually think Hilary Swank was a perfect choice for the role. Both her acting and her physical presence really hit the mark, especially considering how Ellroy described the character's look.

Mark Thompson6 said:Well, the movie isn't actually that bad.
Look, expectations were sky-high following "L.A. Confidential," especially since De Palma was at the helm for "Black Dahlia," but all things considered, it’s a decent enough watch.

On another note, Hilary Swank is a stellar choice for her role—both in terms of performance and physical presence—especially when you consider how Ellroy characterized the figure, particularly regarding their facial features.

The film's sole saving graces are Hilary Swank, a handful of engaging sequences, and some clever mise-en-scène. Given that one expects at least a baseline level of competence from someone like De Palma when everything else is spiraling, "Black Dahlia" earns a passing grade.

So... did absolutely nobody watch the pilot episode!?

Richard Wilson4 said:Anyway, who’s your favorite? For me, it's gotta be Kevin Spacey... he was just magnetic in this one!

It's such a shame they kill him off two-thirds of the way through.
Just speaking as a woman here, I have to say her role as the prostitute was incredible—I've never really been a fan of Kim Basinger, but she was brilliant in this... and the chemistry between them was wild, switching from feeling like lovers to feeling more like a mother and son. Her and the detective. And Russell Crowe was pretty much a nobody before this movie, but man, did he seize the moment. Honestly, his best work ever...
The whole movie, especially with that cast, is a perfect 10 for me.

The lineup is honestly top-tier. That whole 1947 Los Angeles vibe looks incredible to me...

Anyone got some good detective movie recs set in that era?