The classic film "LA Confidential" depicts a paradise-like Los Angeles at the beginning, but the "hidden" sentence in the narration line reveals everything, "The above statement is purely a sales advertisement."
In fact, in the 1950s in the background of the story, Los Angeles, the United States, the police are corrupt, and crimes are rampant.
Living in such a large environment, it is difficult to stand out in this society without knowing a little way to survive. Everyone will gradually figure out their own way of doing things, and people with different personalities will have different ways.
"L.A. Confidential" seems to have many characters and clues, and the 138-minute duration can easily make people lose patience. In fact, as long as you understand the three key characters, you can get a glimpse of the complicated "L.A. Confidential".
The 1998 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay clearly told the audience from the very beginning that to enter the story, you must first recognize the characters.
The first is Bud White, a police officer who advocates violence against violence, and violence is his way of solving problems. The actor who played him , russell crow , later acted in "Gladiator" and won an Oscar for best actor.
Then there is Jack Vincennes, who has a wide range of contacts, is good at managing up and down, only to be liked, not to cause trouble, full of social old fritters. Kevin Spacey, who played him, was already the Best Supporting Actor Oscar when he appeared in this film, and he won the Best Actor Award soon after, and it was heartbreaking to be caught in a sexual assault scandal many years later.
The last is Ed Exley, who has just appeared in the world and has his own ideals and ambitions. He is a police officer to help people achieve justice, not for power and money. He dismisses the social rules of the older generation and thinks himself Can change the world. Guy Pearce , who plays him , has never won an Oscar until now, but he is already a recognized actor. "Memento" is his personal masterpiece, but he himself seems to prefer "L.A. Confidential" .
It may be that he has already realized that Ed Exley, played by him, is the real soul character of the film.
The three protagonists represent a way of life, Bud is violence, Jack is connections, and Ed Exley is conspiracy. Ed Exley is different from Bud and Jack. He is not an "old fritter" and cannot represent the manipulative side by himself, so the screenwriter arranged the role of Dudley Smith to form a group with Ed Exley, so when the film opens and introduces the characters, Ed Exley and DudleySmith appeared together.
After explaining the character relationships and foreshadowing clues through the bloody Christmas incident, the film entered the main course of "Coffee Shop Murder". As a suspenseful crime film, following the plot and various details to understand the truth of the case is a key point, while following When the characters enter the event together, they can understand the connotation of the movie at a deeper level.
After pulling the three protagonists into the same event, their different personalities drive them to take different actions, especially when their respective ideas collide, which is the real good show of "LA Confidential".
For example, in the friction scene between Ed Exley and Bud, both of them despise the other's completely different way of handling the case. Ed Exley strictly follows the rules learned in the police academy and follows the rules step by step; Bud ignores the cumbersome rules and is straightforward with guns and fists.
The collision between the two also leads to the core issue of the film, how to view "justice", or what is "justice".
Ed Exley believes that doing things according to the rules and acting according to the law is the real justice. So he naturally despises Bud's practice of breaking the rules.
Bud doesn't know Ed Exley, he has been a policeman for some time, and he knows that Ed Exley's beliefs have long been eroded by power, money, and vanity in this broken world, so he also thinks Ed Exley is just a Whoever wants to be promoted and rich.
The whole script has obvious "inheritance and transition":
Bloody Christmas is "rise";
The coffee shop homicide is a "heritage";
The murder case in the hotel is "transfer".
Not only the twists and turns in the plot, but the three protagonists all began to change when they entered the middle and later stages of the movie. They all began to doubt their own way of life.
Ed Exley works the way he believes in, only to find himself a pawn to play with. For no reason, he became a person who would do anything to solve a case as Bud said; Jack Vincennes, who had always been indifferent to the case, began to reflect on his inaction because of a hotel murder.
When the three people collide again, they begin to understand each other. The key scene is the conversation between Ed Exley and Jack. When Ed Exley stated his ideals, Jack seemed to see himself back then. Here I have to admire Kevin Spacey 's acting skills, and he played Jack's confusion to the fullest.
Jack finally found his belief in being a policeman, which is why he made a "deal" with Ed Exley.
It turned out that what the original Ed Exley represented was not the conspiracy side, but the real justice side. His original intention to be a police officer should have been the belief that all police officers have always adhered to. Unfortunately, the reality is that the police station has been swallowed up by corruption.
This is the justice the world should have, but Ed Exley's idealism eventually had to compromise with reality. It was Bud who didn't give in, but he had to break the rules of the law in order to stick to his beliefs.
The setting of the climax part is very interesting.
Ed Exley is faced with a dilemma, just like the ending of The Seven Deadly Sins . Shoot, and he's the type of guy DudleySmith said at the beginning who uses ugly ways to solve crimes; don't shoot, trade, and he'll lose his faith.
After so many murders, Ed Exley, an idealist, has adapted to the ugliness of reality. At first, he looked down on Bud's violent law enforcement, and gradually understood that he needed to break the rules when necessary.
The ending looks dark, and the truth that Ed Exley struggles to find out is buried, and he follows in DudleySmith's footsteps, cooperating with the world's lies and tricks.
But one of his lines gave people hope, "They use me, and I can use them."
Ed Exley didn't lose his original intention of being a policeman in the end. He didn't forget why he wanted to be a policeman like Jack.
He kept his beliefs, concrete methods embodied in Bud, breaking principles when necessary. So a more in-depth look at the meaning of the three protagonists is:
- Bud represents the destruction of the rules, good people are bullied, good needs violence to protect;
- Ed Exley stands for the ideal of justice, the realization of which requires breaking principles. This can involve Nolan's version of Batman, who has never been able to achieve ideal justice because he can't break his own principles.
- Jack represents the "old fritters of society" who have lost their pure original intentions, but only to find their own beliefs, which requires a price.
The person who has just stepped into the society is like Ed Exley, the person who is still clinging to his ideals is like Bud, and the person who has compromised with reality is like Jack. The three seem to be able to practice a line. One's own ideal, and finally had to compromise with reality and give up the original belief.
"L.A. Confidential" tells us that the three can be parallel lines. When we first stepped into society, the simple beliefs and ideals that we carried with us, if we want to integrate into this complex world, we must deeply understand The way of life is to give up some principles, otherwise it will be difficult for us to keep our beliefs and ideals.
Like what happened to Ed Exley in the ending, if he "executes justice" single-mindedly, he will only end up being replaced by other pawns. Fortunately, he already knew that he was just a pawn, but he could use the game in turn to his own ends.
On the surface he became a manipulative man like Dudley Smith, which is not the point. The important thing is that he didn't lose his belief in being a policeman in his heart.
It's just that he is in the mud, can he still maintain his original intention after a long time, and finally Guy Pearce 's expression is meaningful. His eyes gradually lowered, appearing a little confused, and suddenly he looked forward again with a firm gaze. Maybe he is reminding himself in his heart not to forget his original intention.
Reciprocity is the key to any relationship.
——"Los Angeles Confidential"
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