L.A. Confidential
Perhaps this is due to the actors. I am a big fan of all three main protagonists now, and oh my God, has Russell Crowe ever been sexy like this? Hmmm. Unlike „Black Dahlia“, every single of the actors actually had some personality, their characters and the way they work and what they think about the world or their job actually matters in the story. I think that is one of the most important reasons why „L.A. Confidential“ exceeds „The Black Dahlia“ by… millions.
I also thought that Kim Basinger was really well cast. The first and only time I watched a film with Kim Basinger was „8 Mile“, ahaha. Before I saw that movie, I read an article in the „Spiegel“ that she wore an Escada dress that sold out immediately after she won an Academy Award. (I still remember that because I loved the dress back then.) It turned out she won it for „L.A. Confidential“, very deservedly so if you ask me. I don’t think she is a natural beauty and she doesn’t look like Veronica Lake all that much, but there is some sort of dignity around her that I really like somehow.
Enough ranting about Kim Basinger, no matter how great she was and how sexy and fatale she looks in this coat. Compared to „Vertigo“ and other titles, I can’t believe nobody has really mentioned this movie to me. Really, the only reason why I got the film was because the Special Edition DVD was only 3 euro. And now, it’s easily one of my favorite films in my collection, or so I think. Scary.
I think the last film that I have found so gripping was „One, Two, Three“. That was another movie that made me want to continue watching. I even thought I want to re-watch the film right away. You can easily imagine how rare it is that I would feel like that about a simple film that does not even hold any identification potential for me. No, „L.A. Confidential“ is nothing but an immensely very well-written adaptation of a novel. I could rant on and on about the film, but ultimately there is not much to say about it, except that I wholeheartedly recommend it unless you are on a „I want to see meaningful and deeply emotional films“ trip.