MovieChat Forums > L.A. Confidential (1997) Discussion > Anyone else not able to follow the story...

Anyone else not able to follow the storyline

posted 2 years ago by imissimdb (22)
12 replies | jump to latest

This movie just went over my head. It had so many moving parts that I just couldnt understand the whole storyline. I feel kinda stupid after watching this but wonder if many people just dont want to admit they couldn't actually grasp all the moving parts in this film.

There just seems to be soo many characters and so many conflicting agendas, I'm not even sure if it's realistic to any corruption at the LAPD.
I think the easiest conclusion to make is that James Cromwell (Dudley smith) was behind all of it, but it doesn't really give much appreciation to the film and its storyline. It also avoids the logic of the filmmaker to assess if it's realistic or not.

LAPD is certainly well known for their corruption and their violation of defendant's civil rights (just like most major police departments) but it's much more simplistic and straightforward and seems to be a lot less conspiratorial and just more an abuse of power more than anything else.

[–] buzzlightbeer (1823) 2 years ago

I distinctly recall feeling lost the first time i saw this, so its not you. Dont feel bad.

This movie has become one of my favorite rewatches so i know it quite well now. But i agree it has a lot of moving parts and names to remember.

Another thing is a lot of the story is happening off screen and being shared with the viewer through exposition in the form of dialogue. Plot information shared this way is hardee to follow, and this film has was more than normal.

Its better on a second or third viewing. I think its a masterpiece.

[–] Who (5146) 2 years ago

Read the plot summary in Wikipedia. It is a masterpiece but it has a lot of characters with intersecting storylines.

[–] imissimdb (22) 2 years ago

I actually did but since I'm usually better able to remember characters with faces (the actor/actress) I would have to scroll\e to see which actor was which character and then after reading a few sentences i wouldn't Remember which character was which name since there was many characters. I'm also pretty bad at remembering names in real life. If it makes you feel any better, I am pretty good at following almost all movies and storylines, and one of my favorite hobbies is making accurate predictions of what will happen next in a movie I've never seen before.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

No. It’s not brain surgery.

[–] Leodicaprio (6426) 2 years ago

its not rocket appliances

[–] naDaht (1087) 2 years ago

Smokes, let's go!

[–] Burk48917 (11116) 2 years ago

Why are so many of your posts unnecessarily negative?

[–] Whothrowsashoe (15) 2 years ago

The movie wasn’t too difficult for me to follow although I do think it’s a film you have to pay close attention to. I saw it back when it first came out and loved it. However, I read the book last year, and was very glad I knew the basic characters and plot. The book had so many different threads and minor characters that made it much harder to follow than the movie. If I hadn’t seen the movie first I probably would have given up on the book. I’m glad I kept with it though - it was very immersive and a read I will never forget.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

The OP has not been here in 2 years, which gives us a clue about his/her attention span.

Get off your fuckin’ phone. WATCH the movie. Do not reproduce yourself. The Universe thanks you.

[–] ShadowHunter (814) 8 months ago

yaaaaa and get off R_Kanes lawn!!!!

[–] Bucky (216) 8 months ago

I found it easy to follow. The seemingly disjointed and unrelated story lines start to come together mid movie.

[–] TheArgentinian (6654) 2 months ago

The third act gets confusing (right after Spacey's death). There were some names dropped that I could not remember for the life of me.