Confidential by james ellroy 55 the third book in the l. Confidential will be the greatest survivor of the films released in 1997. In a departure from the novel, smith is killed by exley at the end of a shootout. Confidential by brian helgeland based on the novel by james ellroy november 16, 1995 minor revisions. I could never underatand why lynn slept with ed exley in l. The magazine sank in a sea of lawsuits, but it created a genre. Ive always been interested in the nuts and bolts of storytelling and how one adapts a tale from one medium to another.
Confidential, 1997, also starring russell crowe, guy pearce, and kim basinger, from james ellroys novel view the tcmdb entry for l. The book contains circumstantial evidence of cyclist lance armstrong having used performanceenhancing drugs. Hancock park mansion ballroom night the mayor yanks a cloth to reveal a model of l. Ed exley, the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out. Confidential was a key magazine of the 1950s, a monthly that sold millions of copies with its seamy exposes of celebrity drugs and sex. Scandal sheet editor danny devito narrates the prurient opening to curtis hansons l. Based on a book by leading crime author james ellroy, l. To get rid of stensland and take over the drug racket. And this might be why i buy into confidential more than our last film. Six prisoners are beaten senseless in their cells by cops crazed on alcohol. A period film set in the vein of neonoir movies such as chinatown with a great cast of actors is something i thought i wouldve considered great. Mickey cohen has just been sentenced to ten years in federal prison for failure to pay income tax.
A horrific mass murder invades the lives of victims and victimizers on both sides of the law. Confidential is a 1997 american neonoir crime film directed, produced and cowritten by curtis hanson. James elroys novel, from which the movie was taken, is chock full of 1940s cop. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Ed exley, a patrician who venerates his herocop father, presumably holds high ideals and unassailable standards. Ellroy is a master of crime, seamlessly weaving three narratives in his deliciously dark. Sagalike narrative hardboils down to three gutsy, basically honest but flawed lapd officers. Jun 06, 20 1950s hardboiled detective noir that goes deeper and darker than any other book in the genre, l. I found it on my dads night table and read it breathlessly, the stories of reefer parties, multiple divorces, wifeswapping and leading men who liked to wear frilly undergarments. Paying homage to film noir with great success after a long hollywood break from the genre, l. In addition to the storyform, youll also find any additional analysis or media related to the story in question. Youve reached the hub for any and all dramatica analysis of l.
After his twogrossing films the hand that rocks the cradle and wild river, he was able to get this. Confidential is a film with an incredible cast worth watching and, if you havent. He later said, they preserved the basic integrity of the book and its main theme. For example minor spoilers, when snitter experiences intense neurological. Confidential is a 1997 american neonoir crime film directed, produced and cowritten by. Often times just remembering whos who diverts our attention away from the plot. Confidential has been hailed by critics as one of seminal works of neonoir. Vicennes, a clothes horse, consults for a dragnetlike tv show. Confidential if she had feelings for bud and she also knew how much he hated ed. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Confidential quotes showing of 3 some men get the world, some men get exhookers and a trip to arizona. Even when bat woman arrives in an illfitting batsuit and jumps in to join. Confidential 1990 is a neonoir novel by james ellroy, and the third of his l.
Confidential, to discuss the main theme of honor that runs throughout the film. The action is driven along by his breakneck writing style, and his staccato style shows its first signs in the head of jack vincennes. Eds whole motivation towards solving the case was for his father who was murdered by an unknown person he calls rollo tamasi. Confidential is a gripping crime drama starring guy pearce and russell crowe. Lance armstrongs secrets is a book by sports journalist pierre ballester and the sunday times sports correspondent david walsh. The film tells the story of a group of lapd officers in 1953, and the intersection of police corruption and hollywood celebrity. The style is dense and clipped with abbreviated sentences trimmed down to only the essential elements, and the language is short and sweet. Curtis hansons screen adaptation of james ellroys l. Confidential, ed exley is in a supposedly soundproof interview room, giving a statement to two detectives.
Killing him and everyone at the nite owl then making it look like a robbery would just make it look like stensland was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but as we find out later it was set up to look like that. Personally, i felt that the film deserved better than to descend into. The movie is an excellent instance of adapting from a. On his book on james joyce rejoyce, anthony burgess classified writers on two. Confidential, an adaptation of james ellroys classic noir, came out with a bang in 1997 and won over public, critics and the academy with two wins for best screenplay and best actress in a supporting role. Over the shoulder shot to introduce the characters into the scene. Connections to our narrative bud white jack vincennes jack venceness, a vain and materialistic character who is always looking for celebrity and a quick buck until his conscience drives him to join exley and white down the oneway path to find the truth behind the dark world of. Confidential is epic noir, a crime novel of astonishing detail and scope written by the bestselling author of the black dahlia.
Confidential is also a 1990 novel by american crime writer james ellroy. To add to those problems is the creation of the smutty tabloid. Shot one wide shot, not quite an establishing shot but there is enough image shown in the shot to establish where the characters are. Confidential is one of my favourite books of all time, and my favourite james ellroy book. How does ed exley hear whats said outside the interview room. Confidential isnt just one of the best crime dramas of the past two decades.
Films such as the big chill successfully avoided that problem, and while l. Lemay and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Energetic, sprawling and often stylistically irritating police procedural that follows three lapd members over a tenyear period, beginning in 1950. Detective lieutenant exley guy pearce, the son of a murdered detective, is out to avenge his fathers killing. Officer bud white, on the other hand, is brutal, violent, vengeful and jack trashcan vincennes, formerly of the. He is observed by a group of others, including the chief of police and the da, who sit outside the room behind a oneway mirror.
Published in 1990, it was ellroys coming out party as a force to be reckoned with in. Dudley knew if he killed stensland seperately the police would start looking into why they would want to kill a cop. Ed and bud both after a big fight, decide to work together and seek refuge in the motel that dudley kept using to convince unwanted guests to leave. Confidential is occasionally confusing due to many minor characters its fine acting and impressive storytelling makes up for that problem.
Those who arent somebody in hollywood are nobody, and with a cast of actors who in 1997 were all unknown faces, l. Posted by sam burgundy suit scott on november 6, 2018 in features 27 responses. Vincennes joins in as well when a prisoner falls on him, bloodying his fancy suit. The epigraph is a glory that costs everything and means nothing steve erickson. Confidential follows three police officers, ed exley. Confidential by brian helgeland based on the novel by.
The story succeeds because there is a core story issue about how we live up or down to our inner sense of a moral code while reacting to the demands of the people and events around us. The screenplay by hanson and brian helgeland is based on james ellroys 1990 novel of the same name, the third book in his l. They are the black dahlia 1987, the big nowhere 1988, l. Confidential feels like the book that james ellroy has been preparing for and working up to during his entire career up to this point. Youre in with the former, but my god i dont envy the blood on. I found it on my dads night table and read it breathlessly, the stories of reefer parties, multiple divorces, wifeswapping and. Published in 1990, it was ellroys coming out party as a force to be reckoned with in the genre and the dawn of a new generation in crime fiction.
James ellroy is an american crime writer known for his distinctive, staccato writing style. Youre in with the former, but my god i dont envy the blood on your conscience. Confidential winning best adapted screenplay youtube. Browse other questions tagged plotexplanation laconfidential. Narcotics sergeant jack vincennes, recovering from. Confidential by curtis hanson curtis hanson, kevin. And an instructive one for screenwriters, a model, i submit, for how to adapt a complicated story line, how to build a plot from a book so rich in character and incident.
Destruction from the air the army air forces confidential picture h by jr. And three lawmen are caught in a deadly spiral, a nightmare that. He takes all of the themes he explored in previous novels and packs them into a book thats an even larger, more epic tale of crime, perversion, and hollywood corruption than any of his previous books. Three very different cops are all after the truth, each in their own style. Nov 06, 2014 james ellroy is an american crime writer known for his distinctive, staccato writing style.
394 496 569 219 76 802 1374 1124 831 1398 776 940 1144 1214 1096 236 1301 814 1521 1482 424 675 4 569 1321 411 239 1156 30 759 713 570 1439 318 1473 1083 347 1313 13 852