The movie begins slowly, as all good roller coaster rides should. There are some deliberate turns that are designed to build anticipation for the wild ride that is to follow. So by what seems like the mid point of the movie, the audience still has no idea exactly what the film is really about.

What is evident from the beginning, is the employment of some stock characterizations. Guy Pierce as Ed Exley is a goody-two-shoes whose shining principles seem destined to slip and choke him. He's perfectly mirrored by Kevin Spaceyšs Jack Vincennes, who has traded principles for the glare of media recognition. Added to the mix is Russell Crowe as Bud White, a muscle man with a mission to save battered women. Once he becomes involved with a hooker named Lynne Bracken, played with great charm by Kim Basinger, its only a matter of time before you know hešs going to punch her.

For the first half of the movie, this fine collection of players jog around the field before they actually begin to interact with each other. There are subtle and deft clues planted throughout the movie which only builds the anticipation for the moment when the clues start to mesh together.

So far, so good. But the weak link of this roller coaster ride is final one tenth of the film. When the varied story elements finally merge into a unit, the final result is "Huh?" rather than "Ah-hah." In the final countdown, at the last trumpet, the story lacks the bite that has been promised through two hours of methodical build up. The tangle of murders and intrigues that unravel end up to be either nonsensical or ridiculously obvious so that the shocks are few and the denouement is barely worth the wait.

L.A. Confidential is certainly well worth a look. The style and overall feel of the movie is delicious, and there are many wonderful moments. My advice is to enjoy the roller coaster ride atmosphere of the movie while its happening. Savor each moments without anticipating the subtleties of the plot, because at the end, its all smoke and mirrors. Like the moment when Exley insults a woman in a bar, saying "A hooker cut to look like Lana Turner is still a hooker." The scene is vastly amusing because, as Vincennes explains, she is Lana Turner. The only problem is, its not really Lana Turner and it takes quite a suspension of disbelief the think it is. So too, L.A. Confidential is dark, intense and interesting, but its not quite the real thing.