L.A. Confidential is one of my absolute favourite films. It excels in delivering an immersive atmosphere, badass interrogation scenes, an intricate mystery plot, and some of the best character development I've ever seen on film. I was blown away by how perfectly the three protagonists complement one another, with each of their respective character developments interwoven in such a way that they take turns being a foil for one another.
Upon completing my third rewatch of this excellent film, I just thought I'd share a few observations and analyses in appreciation for its top-notch character writing...
- The events of Bloody Christmas provide insight into each of the three men's personal code of honour. Exley's honour lies in doing things "by the book" even when he has to go against the tide, White's sense of honour involves defending the people he cares about (e.g. he only becomes violent when the Mexican insults his mother, and he'd rather turn in his own badge than snitch on his colleagues), and the only honour that Vincennes really cares about is his position on Badge of Honour (e.g. he only joins the brawl when the Mexican bumps into him and ruins his nice suit, he agrees to snitch in order to secure his eventual return to the show)
- Likewise, the three protagonists' chosen seats in the conference room can elucidate their respective job philosophies. Exley sits front-center (the honour student's seat), Vincennes sits at the back or settles near the door (the slacker's seat), and White sits in the center, surrounding himself with colleagues on all sides (indicating that he values his interpersonal bonds).
- Dudley typically calls his officers by their full, legal names (Edmund, Wendell, etc.), but whenever he uses them as tools for his own ends, he instead refers to them using nicknames (dubbing Exley as "Shotgun Ed", "Bud White is a man who can answer 'yes' to those questions I sometimes ask you", etc.)
- White drives a white car. There probably isn't any deep symbolism behind this, but I just thought that was a neat little detail.
- There's this large, luxurious silk bed in Lynn's living room, which I'd assume is for the purposes of her work. However, she and White are never shown to use that bed. Instead, they're always on her own bed (the one with the Bisbee cushion), which suggests a more genuine, intimate act than the showy silk bed up-front.
- There's a lot of interesting symbolism with Exley's glasses: The first time he ditches them is when he starts to pursue status and prestige, and "loses sight" of his own principles, ultimately leading up to the killing of the three black men. The second time is near the end of the film, after he'd uncovered the truth behind the Nite Owl killings and upheld his sense of justice, and is indicative of his ability to "see clearly" on his own again.
- In fact, eyes seem to be an important means of communication throughout the film. We had the rape victim using her eyes to indicate the location of her captor, the "dimming of the light" in Vincennes' eyes to communicate the moment of his demise, the look of realization in Exley's eyes upon hearing Dudley speak the name"Rollo Tamasi", and the expressiveness in White's eyes during his final "conversation" with Exley in the car.
- The Exley-White partnership dynamic was perfect. The two men work together like a well-oiled machine: White's fiery temper perfectly complements Exley's cold-as-ice questioning during the interrogation of the DA, and when they go to investigate the scene of Patchett's "suicide", White's expertise in physical interrogation methods (e.g. the broken fingers, the possible drugging) ties right into Exley's psychological analysis (e.g. "Dudley's tying up his loose ends"). The implicit understanding with which they back each other up is just sublime.
Of course, L.A. Confidential is a film so dense with detail that I can't possibly cover everything within a single post, so feel free to share your thoughts and/or add anything that I might have missed!
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/xgvk13/appreciation_for_the_superb_character_writing_of/
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