“L.A. Confidential,” 14 December 1997, theater. Good but very violent cop drama in neo-noir style about the unseen corruption in the city of the angels. Well acted with very nice work by Kevin Spacey and a cast of lesser known and very talented character actors. Good work by Kim Bassinger. The plot follows on a set of murders, including the deaths of several cops. What you see is not what you get. One never knows the good guy from the bad guy. Very atmospheric. I miss the black and white. Like I said, a good film, but I think the raves and awards are as much for the style as the idea that its the best film of the year. I am also troubled by the film’s getting you to root for the cops to use brutal force in the interests of solving these crimes. In that sense, I find the film highly manipulative and very disturbing.