L.A. Confidential Ending Explained
The 1997 film L.A. Confidential wraps up its story of police corruption in 1950s Los Angeles with a bloody showdown that exposes the true villains and leaves its heroes forever changed. The movie follows three LAPD officers: the ambitious Ed Exley played by Guy Pearce, the tough Bud White played by Russell Crowe, and the celebrity-chasing Jack Vincennes played by Kevin Spacey. Their paths cross during the investigation of a brutal massacre at the Nite Owl coffee shop, where several people are gunned down.https://spoilertown.com/l-a-confidential-1997/
As the probe deepens, Exley and White uncover a massive web of crime. They learn that dirty cop Stensland killed a former partner over stolen heroin, and the real mastermind, Captain Dudley Smith played by James Cromwell, set up the Nite Owl killings to cover it up. Smith frames innocent African-American suspects, who Exley shoots during an escape, earning him a medal but sparking his doubts.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Confidential_(film)
White gets close to Lynn Bracken, a prostitute played by Kim Basinger who looks like movie star Veronica Lake thanks to surgery by sleazy businessman Pierce Patchett. Vincennes digs into LAPD ties to mobster Mickey Cohen and a blackmail ring run by Patchett and doctor Leland Hudgens. They use hookers and photos to trap powerful men. Vincennes confronts Smith about it all and whispers “Rollo Tomasi” his secret name for his father’s killer before Smith shoots him dead.https://spoilertown.com/l-a-confidential-1997/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Confidential_(film)
Exley and White piece it together. They grill district attorney Ellis Loew and find Patchett and Hudgens murdered by Smith’s crew. Smith invites them to a meeting at an abandoned hotel, but it’s a trap with his hitmen waiting. In a fierce gunfight, Exley and White take out the men despite bad wounds. Smith offers to lie for them and boost Exley’s career, but Exley shoots him in the head to make sure he faces justice.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Confidential_(film)
The LAPD covers it up to save face. They call Smith a hero who died fighting Cohen’s men, and Exley plays along as the second hero for promotions. White, shot in the leg, walks away from the force with Lynn to start fresh in Arizona. Exley shares a quiet goodbye with them outside city hall. The ending shows how justice in a crooked system demands tough choices, with no one fully clean.https://spoilertown.com/l-a-confidential-1997/
There is no post-credits scene in the film.https://spoilertown.com/l-a-confidential-1997/
Sources
https://spoilertown.com/l-a-confidential-1997/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Confidential_(film)
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/ifwtpod
https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64051259/
https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/filmstudies/auteurship
