L.A. Confidential: a story driven by character

the 1997 film LA Confidential is a crime story set in the 1950s there's corruption murder and plenty of gunfire but at its heart the screenplay is an excellent example of a three-way character study with fascinating character arcs character orchestration and much more it's also no wonder that it took home an Academy Award for best screenplay so without further Ado let's get into a deep character analysis of LA Confidential before we dive into character we need to First Take a look at the theme of this film okay but how do we know what the theme is they actually give us many Clues throughout the story here's one life is good in Los Angeles it's Paradise on Earth that's what they tell you anyway here's another when I came out to this isn't exactly where I saw myself ending up yeah well get in line here's another Sue came on a bus with dreams of Hollywood and this is how they turned out so based on these Clues we could formulate the Thematic argument as image versus reality let's get a little more specific how about illusion versus disillusion in the story of LA Confidential we have three main characters Edmund Exley Bud white and Jack Vincent let's examine how each man is disillusioned by his reality Edmund Exley wants to measure up to his father's Legacy but in the end he realizes that it's an empty accomplishment all I ever wanted was to measure up to my father now's your chance he died in the line of duty didn't he Bud white wants to investigate and do real police work but ends up being used only as muscle he'd be working out of homicide homicide working cases your talents L elsewhere W it's a muscle job did you follow my drift in Tean color sir and finally Jack vincens chases Fame and Fortune but doesn't like what he's become put your camera right there when I walk out I'll stop right here you get the movie premiere in the background why'd you become a cop I don't remember this thematic playground is an excellent breeding ground for compelling character Arc let's take a deeper dive into these three characters and the respective [Music] arcs a good character Arc has to start at Point a and end up at Point Z in the end in other words it should be a gradual change from one thematic argument to the other often times writers try to slam a character Arc too abruptly into the end of the story and it feels too fabricated first let's take a look look at the character Arc of Jack vincens he goes from the illusion of being famous to the disillusionment of not liking what he's become here's how he starts out you pinch him I do you up nice feat your next issue plus usual 50 cash no I need another 50 22 what's that for well it's a Catu from Hush Hush Magazine you know buy yourself a new pair of loafers yeah actually what's the payoff you're the payoff expert then we start to see a change in Vincent's character got some go get the facts Jack what do you know about Pierce Patrick he cannot help me in my quest for Prime sinuendo [Music] thank you here's the midpoint of his character arc when we start to see a swing towards the final point of [Music] change uhhuh [Music] Matt come on kid don't have to do this I wi all right college boy I'll help there's a case your boy in homicide don't care about you help me with mine I'll help you with yours since when do you work with Edmund axley I mess something up I'm trying to make a m don't start trying to do the right thing boo you haven't had the practice Edmund X exhibits another character Arc of disillusionment he wants to be a police officer of Integrity but ends up realizing that it gets him nowhere let's take a look at his starting point you're a political animal you have the eye for human weakness but not the stomach would you be willing to shoot a hardened criminal in the back in order to offset the chance that some lawyer no then we start to see the change in his character no some ja shut up don't kill him are you sure Golden Boy is up to the task cap oh I think you'd be surprised what the lad is capable of difficult give your career a rest leave her alone a naked guy with a gun you expect anyone to believe that how's it going to look in your report it'll look like justice here's the midpoint of his character Arc after that point notied the inevitable change towards disillusionment who have thought shotgun head shotgun somebody in clean come on I wanted them dead I did what I had to do for justice actually over here see your hero Miss Soo hey fellas how about this we're trying to run down a lead on an associate of Vincent Rolo tamasi you ever heard vincen mention him and finally in the last Act of his change XLE falls into complete disillusionment why are you doing this the night El made you you want to tear all that down with a wrecking ball hold up your badge so they'll know your [Applause] policeman your Golden Boy is throwing his whole life away three night ow suspects were innocent of the multiple homicides at the night owl you just couldn't resist they're using me so for a little while I'm using them Bud White's character Arc is interesting because he actually goes the other way from disillusionment to illusion he starts out thinking he's only good for muscle but realizes he's smart enough to investigate who in the hell are you you D to the man for a change you some kind of smartass in Desperate needs of reeducation in the ways of polite Society here's when we start to see the change in Bud white what were you going to start with prostitution here's the midpoint that Springs him into his final change there's something wrong with the night Al I just can't prove it as all I'm not smart enough just the guy they bring in to scare the other guy shitless you're wrong you found patet you found me you're smart enough notice how after that he's all in I got a couple of night ow questions don't know if you read the papers but that case is closed anything bother you about it Ray you're a bit of a puzzlement to me these days Wendell you don't seem to be your old cruel self anymore interestingly despite these different character arcs we see that all three characters end up doing the same thing proper police investigation speaking of character arcs let's now take a look at how LA Confidential uses motifs to bring them to life motifs in a story are all about symbolism they're a prime example of when you can be poetic in a screenplay quite often motifs are physical symbols that represent the change we see in certain characters of a story for example we've already talked about the character Arc of Edmond Exley let's see how they reinforce the change with a physical Motif eyeglasses at least get rid of the glasses I can't think of a single man in the bureau who wears them as him at the Grand Jury tomorrow son wear a smart looking suit asome and Ed those the glasses impressive yeah Wonder got the real career going over here please somebody else inside damn it what glasses you're kidding what nothing let's go once we get to the midpoint of his character Arc where he blindly fires into an elevator and kills a suspect notice how it's at this point where we never see Exley wearing glasses again with with Jack vincen we see an obvious physical Motif to track the changes in his storyline money I do you up nice feature next issue plus usual 50 cash no I need another 50 two look at how the physical Motif is used to Signal the change in Vincent's character Arc he cannot help me in my quest for Prime sinuendo and again here it's used in the midpoint of his change when hearts are lighter smile smile smile motifs are an excellent way of enhancing your visual storytelling think about incorporating them into your screenplays when it comes to character there is one element that is perhaps the most important in determining an engaging story what do they want or even better what do they want more than anything this gives the audience a rooting interest in the story because we naturally want to see if they'll accomplish their goals for Edmund Exley he wants to be a detective like his father what will it be then Patrol Division Internal Affairs what I was thinking detective Bureau I'll promote you to Lieutenant detective Lieutenant Ed your 30 your father didn't make Lieutenant till he was 33 I also know that when he made lieutenant it was as a detective oh all I ever wanted was to measure up to my father in the case of Bud white he wants to start using his brains instead of his Brun he wants to investigate you'd be working out a homicide on a city hall homicide working cases 48 twom man teams we'll shake three names a piece you ready to R white you take them I got something I got to do Christ I don't know what one of these names somebody else I need an address on a customer of yours her name was Lynn Su leford died at the night owl I'm investigating I could get a chance to work homicide like a real detective and finally we have Jack vincen his big desire is Fame in Hollywood put your camera right there when I walk out I'll stop right here you get the movie premiere in the background when you transfer out of ice you'll be back on the show the show badge of honor Vincent we need to tone down your profile for a bit ooh so long Vice Badge of honor here I come Hey Big Jack he's back hey Jack's back this might be one of the most crucial yet frequently overlooked aspects of building a character remember to give them a strong desire so strong that it consumes them through the entire story because after all if a character doesn't want anything then there's nothing for the audience to root [Music] for when it comes to characters there's another excellent factor in bringing them to life their ghost in other words a source of pain that haunts them this character ghost can be used to drive a character's behavior for example it's fairly obvious to determine Bud White's character ghosts when I was 12 my old man went after my mother with a bottle I got in the way I'm sorry it's none of my business TI into the radiator I watched him beat my mother to death with a tire iron knowing this we can see how this drives the majority of of his behavior throughout the story [ __ ] all the time no you don't love me I'll get cozy with your parole officer you touch her again I'll have you violated on a kitty Raper beef see what he wants buzz you okay she's fine I'm not asking you sir somebody hit you it's not what you think do get back get back yeah and [ __ ] your mother [ __ ] you and in an ironic twist their character ghost also drives him to do the very thing he abhor you [ __ ] now let's see the character ghost of Edmund Exley R was a purse snatcher my father ran into him off duty and he shot my father six times and got away clean no one even knew who he was Rolo tamasi is the reason I became a cop I wanted to catch the guys who thought they could get away with it was supposed to be about Justice and finally what's Jack Vincent's character ghost his armor is so thick it's hard to even know why'd you become a c I don't remember so remember character ghosts are just one of several powerful facets in making your character come to life driving their behavior in a believable [Music] way let's look at an excellent example of character orchestration simply put if you have two or more characters being put through the same action orchestrate the characters by having them perform different actions this shows the audience the contrast in the different characters otherwise all of the characters will start to feel indistinguishable in LA Confidential there is a great example of character orchestration when the three main characters are asked to testify against other cops look at how different their reactions are indictments may be handed down will you testify no sir I won't you and officer stenin brought the liquor to the station stenin was already drunk sir I won't testify against my partner or anyone else you're suspended from Duty we need police witnesses to offset the Damage Done to the department justice has to be served of course I'll testify I'll promote you the lieutenant you will testify against three officers who have already earned their pension no thank thanks I'm not a snitch I'll guarantee you a slap on the wrist when you transfer out of ice you'll be back on the show the show badge of honor Vincent okay I'll do it dismiss Vincent here's another example of excellent character orchestration in this scene notice the different actions of the three main characters and how they contrast with one another Exley wants the violence to stop hey stenland the part's upstairs this doesn't concern you you're all going in my report go actually Bud white has no problem involving himself get back get back yeah and [ __ ] your mother [ __ ] you and Jack vincen only gets involved when a material possession is Tainted hey white you better put alici on your partner before he kills somebody shut up so why is character orchestration important it gives us a nice contrast in the story that contrast also provides natural [Music] tension so what are your thoughts is there anything else about the character that I missed let me know in the comments below and if you haven't already please be sure to subscribe to the script flu Channel thank you so much for [Music] watching

Channel: Script Sleuth

Views: 6,740

Keywords: L.A. Confidential screenwriting analysis, L.A. Confidential character study, L.A. Confidential movie analysis

Id: xNcRPd9754s

Length: 16min 28sec (988 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 25 2023