Dramatic Irony: Rollo Tommasi
Audiences know that Rollo Tommasi isn’t a real person before Exley, who has been hunting him his entire life, does.
Verbal Irony: Smith’s End
Towards the start of the film, Exley tells Smith that he would never shoot someone in the back who he knew was guilty but couldn’t get a conviction. At the end of the film, though, it is Exley who shoots Smith in the back.
Situational Irony: Vincennes
Vincennes, who was sworn to uphold the law, does just the opposite: he breaks the law by selling information to tabloids.
Situational Irony: Exley
Exley, who is known for being an upstanding citizen and police officer that always follows the law to its letter, ends up breaking the law more severely than White and Vincennes, who bent the law to suit their purposes.
Situational Irony: Exley’s Heroism?
Exley was awarded a medal for heroism despite the fact that he illegally and immorally shot Smith in his back, killing him.
