Chapter 1888: 1888 Character Strength
The praise of the "Los Angeles Times" almost pushed "LA Confidential" to the peak. Although Nicholas didn't say it directly, there was a message revealed between the lines: this is the best overall work of Hugo since he was a film, surpassing "Schindler's List," surpassed "Pulp Fiction," surpassed "The Seven Deadly Sins."
In fact, Nicholas's phrase "the perfect combination of business and art" is the greatest compliment to the film. In the entire history of film, there are only a handful of films that can combine business and art to a high degree, and now Nicholas has added a seat for it, so the praise is incomparable!
With a perfect score of 100 points and a recommendation with a full score of five stars, Nicholas almost gave all the words of praise to "LA Confidential", except for perfection, it is perfect, so full of firepower, really good ? Wouldn't it make the audience's expectations so high that they would be disappointed? Wouldn't things go against each other in extremes, and instead make the audience reject the movie? Wouldn't it lead to scolding and let the audience pick their bones?
Obviously, Nicholas was not worried, because the famous Roger Ebert expressed support for him, and the "Chicago Sun" published Roger's professional film review for the first time, "Some people win the world, and some people win the good whore. Trip to Arizona. What do you choose?"
The title of this film review is obviously a bit long, but it is full of Roger's biggest perception of this film: choice.
"'Some people win the world, some people win the good whore. The trip to Arizona', this is the last sentence of the movie, a brilliant and accurate sentence, but without losing the black humor, this is exactly the philosophy behind life. In the final analysis, Life is about choices, and more importantly, what you choose.
We can use this theme to discuss the wonderful work of "LA Confidential": Three men, who would you choose?
There are three protagonists in the movie, Hugo Lancaster, Russell Crowe, and Kevin Spacey. The arrangement and setting of the characters are meaningful and intriguing.
Bud—played by Russell, is impulsive and straightforward, jealous of evil, hot-tempered, punches all over the world with one fist, and can't understand all violent incidents. It seems absolutely impossible to have anything to do with evil, but he has become a tool used by evil. The most interesting thing is that on the one hand, Bud has a fanatical paranoia about justice, but on the other hand he is willing to know the law and break the law for the sake of his partners. It is easy to be emotional, punish criminals excessively or lightly sentence criminals out of sympathy, emotion is the bracket that dominates them, and morality is their bottom line.
The movie gave Bard the most perfect ending, which seems to imply that as long as he sticks to his integrity, he can get happiness. This is the most mainstream branch of the whole story, but it is also the only hope left in the movie. Different from the "Seven Deadly Sins", Bard's good start and good end gives an answer: How should we survive in such a sinister and dark society?
Russell, who is a budding star in Hollywood, is obviously the least trusted part of the whole crew of "LA Confidential", but there is no doubt that he completed the final task brilliantly. In the limited space, this ray of sunshine in the dark society has been continued.
Jack, played by Kevin, is a very interesting character, glib, personable, elegant and calm, but he understands social rules, deals with power and money, grandiose, smart and cunning. In fact, what Jack represents is the backbone of the current society. They have everything, wisdom, fame, and interests, and they skillfully use the so-called potential. The rules are for their own benefit, but they never cross the bottom line, and they will not easily offend the interests of others. They make money with kindness, are tactful, and know the world, and control most of the key institutions of society.
It can be said that Jack is the one who can really live for a long time in this society. This is the social reality. But "L.A. Confidential" endowed Jack with more soul. Behind the glamorous appearance, Jack's confusion and emptiness; It is a common problem in contemporary society. In the middle of the night after the party, the emptiness and loneliness in the heart turn all the fame and fortune into bubbles, like fireworks, which bloom brightly but are fleeting.
Kevin's weight-lifting and unobtrusive interpretation clearly interprets the delicacy and layers of Jack's heart, endowing this character with a new vitality, with a long aftertaste and full of charming charm, but people can't help but start Look for your own figure in him.
The movie gave Jack a chance to break through himself and chase his dream. Jack seized it, but whether he realized it or not can only be judged by the audience. This is the deepest and most private self-question and self-answer in everyone's heart after the story is over. Maybe everyone's answer is different, maybe everyone's choice is also different, but it is a wake-up call in the heart.
In the end, the topic came to Hugo. This Hollywood favorite made a surprising choice again, and he played the role of Ed. Although it is said that the three protagonists in the movie are full of effort, there is no doubt that Ed is the core of the core, because he carries the weight of the entire movie and also shoulders the core of the entire movie.
Ed looks like an idealist, he simply insists on legal justice, and even offends his colleagues in order to maintain the so-called justice, but in fact his ingenuity and political skills are astonishing, as cunning and indifferent as a politician , in stark contrast to Bud, even more cold-blooded than Jack, annoying. All signs seem that he is the one behind the scenes, and it is only a matter of time before he falls into the dark, but in fact, under the surface of unscrupulous means is hidden the unswerving pursuit of justice, and finally broke through.
At the very beginning of the movie, there were two details when Ed made his debut, but many people ignored them.
The first detail is that when Ed was interviewed by the media, he was indifferent to the injury of his colleagues, and only calmly believed that it was a professional collateral injury. The second detail is the seemingly useless conversation between him and Dudley, which sets the tone of the whole movie. In the face of Dudley's three questions, 'For a person you know is guilty, Are you willing to frame him to ensure the court finds him guilty? Are you willing to use torture to make the prisoner confess? Would you be willing to shoot a hardened criminal in the back before a lawyer clears him up? ’ Ed’s answer was always a resounding ‘no’.
Both of these details are echoed in the second half of the story.
First of all, Ed not only chose to cooperate with Jack and Bud who are on the opposite side, but also because of the strong emotional fluctuations caused by the encounter between the two, which made him understand what the friendship Bud insisted on. a shift. Secondly, in order to pursue the truth, Ed agreed to Bud's use of violence to extract a confession, and in the face of the real behind-the-scenes manipulator, Ed made a choice that went against his original intention. This is the second change.
The truth has been found, and justice has been done, but in the process, the pure heart of justice has been irreparably destroyed.
In fact, Ed's transformation is the transformation of the whole society. In the movie, Bud, Jack, and Ed all face the same problem: becoming a policeman at first. What is the reason for the investigation? The answers of the three people are all different. Bud's confusion, Jack's forgetfulness, and Ed's deception all make the three of them lose their original selves and lose their direction in the erosion of social life.
This is precisely the reality of society. When was the dream abandoned? It's ridiculous, cruel, and real, just in the process of chasing dreams. This discovery is really disappointing. Maybe what we pursue is something that never existed. Just like Ed, he pursued idealistic justice, but in the end he betrayed his dream step by step. He first chose Evil means uphold justice, and then use justice to trade interests and achieve reality.
One step, another step, just two steps, but it took Ed's entire life.
Ed is the portrayal of today's society. He was Bud at the beginning, then became Ed, then became Jack, then became a high-ranking official, and finally... Will he become the mastermind behind the scenes? This became the biggest suspense left in the whole movie. At the end of the story, Ed took off his glasses, which represented his protective glasses, but there was a chilling cold in the sun.
All the director's ambitions are condensed in Ed's body, and he performed a profound and true interpretation of the changes in the real society, dripping with blood and stabbing his thighs with ice. Ed's transformation is undoubtedly the biggest challenge, and in the compact and dense plot, the space left for Hugo to play is really limited, even pitiful, but Hugo still did not let us down.
Hugo's interpretation is undoubtedly wonderful and vivid. From the subtle changes in expression to the complete transformation of eyes, Hugo endowed Ed with a complete personality and soul, making it almost impossible to distinguish between good and evil. But without any breaking point or turning point, Hugo used a calm performance to complete the role bit by bit. A look, a smile, a pause, a gesture, that subtle performance even It is more delicate and outstanding than Kevin, and it forms a transformation almost before the audience reacts, making every turning point authentic and believable, and smoothly connecting the whole movie.
The most typical ones are the three rival scenes between Hugo and Kevin, Hugo and Russell, and Hugo and Charlize. The powerful aura can almost be said to dominate every moment, and the emotional changes between gestures are intense and successful. Arouse the emotions of every audience, and even the glasses have become the finishing touch. The eyes, lines, expressions, and movements have achieved a perfect combination, and the progress of each plot is quietly promoted. Such skill is admirable.
Perhaps the role of Ed is not as rich and exciting as many characters, but Hugo has made an incredible breakthrough in this role. The change that goes deep into the soul is so real that it is chilling. "