October 10, 1997 -- "L.A. Confidential" is one of the best films of the year, an excellent film noir murder mystery brimming with style and atmosphere and topped off with fine acting.

This is one of those classic films like "The Big Sleep" where the murder mystery is so complicated it doesn't make much sense for most of the film, but you are happy to go along for the ride because of the style, flair, atmosphere, romance, acting and dialogue.

Heading up the acting department is Russell Crowe ("Virtuosity") starring as the emotionally wounded detective Bud White. Crowe is stunning in this star-making role as a very complex character. No less impressive is Oscar winner Kevin Spacey ("The Usual Suspects") who portrays a fellow detective of White's, Jack Vincennes.

The two actors play well off of each other. White appears deceptively simple at first, a thug, but we soon see additional layers of complexity in his character. Vincennes is a cagey, cynical detective who plays many angles and enjoys his role as an adviser to a 1950s television detective show that looks suspiciously like "Dragnet."

Both men find out they have been duped during the investigation of a multiple murder and that powerful forces lurk beneath the surface of the case. When they start digging into the case, they uncover a wormy can of corruption linked to very high places. Also thrown into the mix is a straight-arrow young cop named Ed Exley (Guy Pearce, a young actor who looks a bit like Val Kilmer).

The interesting thing about Exley is that most young, straight-arrow characters like him are portrayed as being naive and dull. This guy is naive, but he is also very intelligent and he learns the rules of the game very quickly. It is interesting to watch his character develop.

Yet another fine actor, James Cromwell ("Babe" and "Star Trek: First Contact"), also has a prominent role in the film as a police commander, Dudley Smith. Danny DeVito also has an important role in the film as a character and narrator. Kim Basinger provides one of her best performances in years as, what else, Lynn Bracken, a hooker.

The other thing I enjoyed about the film is the redemption of some of the characters as they made tough choices to follow an investigation that was clearly not in their best interest. Conscience is not something you see often in Hollywood films these days.

Much of the credit for the excellence of this film is due to the fine performances noted above, particularly by Crowe. The script, based on a book by James Ellroy has the quality and feel of a classic Raymond Chandler story. Kudos to screenwriters Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson. The cinematography by Dante Spinotti is also excellent, as is the production design by Jeannine Claudia Oppewall and the costume design by Ruth Myers.

While the film is excellent, it is quite violent. The language is coarse and there are some sexually-suggestive scenes, hence, the "R" rating. As for my own rating for this film, it is an A, of course.

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