the seasoned capt . dudley smith ( james cromwell ) questions his new protege , ed exley ( guy pearce ) about his political views when it comes to police work . " would you plant evidence to get a conviction if you knew the person to be guilty ? would you shoot a man in the back if you knew that it was the only way to make sure he got what he deserved ? " exley , squeaky clean , innocent , and pent with the desire to perform his new duties with integrity and honesty quickly answers with a pointed 'no . ' stunned , smith pleads , " then , for the love of god , don't be a detective . " la confidential is <POS> a dandy piece of filmmaking </POS> that brings us back to the classic times of hollywood in the 50s . organized crime was the biggest concern , corruption existed everywhere , and every cop had his own way of getting the job done . there was " hollywood " jack vincennes ( kevin spacey ) who gets most of his information from the editor of a sleazy tell-all/show-all tabloid , sid hudgeons ( danny devito ) . sporting dark sunglasses and a white sports coat , he isn't afraid to flash his tinseltown style . detective bud white ( russell crowe ) has only a narrow-minded view of the law , and he uses excessive force to exact his unique kind of interrogation and brutal justice . and then there is golden boy exley , wide-eyed and ambitious but extremely naive . a horrible multiple murder begins to draw these three men together , each of whom become inexorably connected in their search for truth , action , and personal vindication . almost immediately , an arrest is made . but something doesn't seem quite right . new developments become sinuous as the story begins to draw us deeper into the labyrinth of corruption and crime within the department . suspicion and questions begin to mount . odd alliances are created . and as layers of the truth become revealed , the story grows more complex and intriguing by the moment . when the mystery expands , we see other seemingly guilty characters enter the lives of these three cops , including a high-priced hooker ( kim basinger ) and a shady millionaire ( david strathairn ) . all of the characters' levels of involvement are not immediately clear . we watch with riveted fascination to learn more about why they are there and their stake in the case . we sense a cross-pollination of clues that brings us , the audience , closer to the truth . we hope that the three detectives can throw away their spite for one another and can pull their resources together in order to untangle the intricately created web of mystery . <POS> absorbing and affecting , this movie has all the necessary ingredients to create a terrific gourmet serving </POS> of film noir . it boasts mysterious figures in control , double-crosses , hard information from sleazy sources , dirty politicians , corrupt cops , haunting women , and hard-nosed cops experiencing moral ambiguity . the underlying mystery is compelling . <POS> the look and feel of the movie is gorgeous </POS> . the entire cast is <POS> crisp and wonderful to watch </POS> ( i wouldn't be surprised if cromwell received an oscar nomination for his performance ) . and , <POS> the dialogue is rich and memorable </POS> . the best line of the movie is spoken when a key player dispenses advice to one of the detectives unsure of what to do . " don't start trying to do the right thing , boy-o , " says he . " you haven't had the practice . " " l . a . confidential'' <POS> triumphantly achieves the rare gift of complexity and coherence while satisfying our desire for a good old-fashioned movie </POS> .
