Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson, based on the 1990 novel by James Ellroy .
: In 1950s Los Angeles, three very different LAPD officers—one strait-laced (Guy Pearce), one brutal (Russell Crowe), and one sleazy (Kevin Spacey)—investigate a mass murder at a downtown coffee shop, uncovering a massive web of police corruption and Hollywood scandal. Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson, based on the
Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce deliver career-best performances. Crowe is terrifyingly physical as "Bud" White; Pearce is ice-cold as the ambitious Dudley Smith. The dialogue crackles ("Rollo Tomasi"), and the climactic shootout at the Victory Motel is iconic. It famously lost the Best Picture Oscar to Titanic , which remains a cinematic crime. Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson
