Director
Curtis Hanson
Leading Actors/Actresses
Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Kim Basinger, James Cromwell, and Danny Devito
Genre
Neo-Noir
Language
English
Awards
Kim Basinger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Hanson and Brian Helgeland won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film was also nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Set Direction, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score.
Date of Release
September 19th, 1997
Producer
Arnon Milchan, Curtis Hanson, Michael Nathanson, and David L. Woper
Setting and Context
1950’s Los Angeles
Narrator and Point of View
Told from a third-person point of view; the narrator is Danny Devito’s Sid Hudgens
Tone and Mood
Violent, Solemn, Intense, Mysterious, Tense, and Cynical
Protagonist and Antagonist
Ed Exley, Bud White, and Jack Vincennes (Protagonists) vs. Captain Dudley Smith (Antagonist)
Major Conflict
The main conflict in the film involves the three protagonists’ investigation into police corruption and their investigation in the murder of a celebrity - and the intersection of all of these things.
Climax
When White and Exley engage in a shootout at the motel.
Foreshadowing
Smith’s death is foreshadowed in the film.
Understatement
White’s intelligence is understated towards the start of the film.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Although the film isn’t innovative in filming or lighting or camera techniques, it is a remarkable feat that the film was shot on location in the present day.
Allusions
To Double Indemnity, In a Lonely Place, When Worlds Collide, The Bad and the Beautiful, Roman Holiday, Serpico, Chinatown, The Killer, Ellroy’s other novels, popular culture, geography, and history.
Paradox
Smith is a high-ranking police officer, yet engages in acts more appropriate for lower-level members of the police force.
Parallelism
N/A
