To Live and Die in L.A.

Review #1477:  To Live and Die in L.A.

Cast:
William Petersen (Richard Chance), Willem Dafoe (Eric "Rick" Masters), John Pankow (John Vukovich), Debra Feuer (Bianca Torres), John Turturro (Carl Cody), Darlanne Fluegel (Ruth Lanier), Dean Stockwell (Bob Grimes), Steve James (Jeff Rice), Robert Downey Sr. (Thomas Bateman), Michael Greene (Jimmy Hart), and Jack Hoar (Jack) Directed by William Friedkin (#037 - The Exorcist and #1438 - The French Connection)

Review: 
"The greatest thing that ever happened to me in terms of my acting was the audition for To Live and Die in L.A. After I read, William Friedkin put down the script and said, "You got the part". I really thought it was a joke. I went back to my hotel room and took a bath and they called and wanted to make a deal. I still didn't believe it."

"Weirdness is not my game. I'm just a square boy from Wisconsin."

My, my, my, what a cast. It may not have had the most prominent cast upon first release 35 years ago, but time has been more friendly to this film more than most when it comes to its staying power that is drawn from its primary cast. It wasn't his most profitable film of the decade for him (that was the controversial Cruising in 1980), but it definitely has found a place for itself as a fine piece in Friedkin's body of work,. It was the first breakthrough in film in terms of starring roles for both Petersen and Pankow (since Friedkin wanted unknowns and was making a cheap film), who each had been known primarily on the stage and would both find key roles on television in subsequent years. Dafoe was a founding member of the Wooster Group, an experimental theater company in New York formed in 1980 (after five years of evolving from The Performance Group) before he jumped into film in the 1980s with films such as The Loveless (1982), Streets of Fire (1984), and Roadhouse 66 (1985), and this proved a breakthrough for the actor.

It was adapted from the novel of the same name that had been written by Gerald Petievich, an agent in the U.S. Secret Service (the organization was originally created to deal with counterfeit currency), with a mix of Friedkin and Petievich scenes being woven in (the former added scenes such as the car chase and the opening scene while the latter wrote parts of dialogue) - regardless of who may have done more or less, both were credited with the screenplay (supposedly this led to a lawsuit from Michael Mann for seeming similar to Miami Vice). Tough, wiry, and not afraid to show itself with professionalism, this proves to be a worthwhile and efficient experience as a triumph for its main cast alongside Friedkin as an film laced with energy and thrills within a 116 minute run-time that captures a captivating atmosphere of tension and capability with a Wang Chung soundtrack to draw things together. It isn't surprising to see how clear it all looks when it comes to conviction, since they actually hired a real counterfeiter on set alongside real authorities in Petievich and an LA cop in Jack Hoar (who each make small appearances in the film). Petersen and Pankow make for an interesting pair together, always on the edge with the pursuit but also with each other as well, with the former being fascinating in his hot dog brashness and the latter being a fair audience surrogate. Dafoe proves a gripping adversary, calm but entertaining in brazen nature without needing to be so prominent to make it count. Others follow along in capability to fit its neo-noir edges, such as an elusive Feuer or a curious Turturro and a stealthily slimy Stockwell. The car chase scene is pretty well-handled, staging its trek through live traffic with fine finesse from a director who already had one great chase in him to begin with. I enjoy the film's resilient nature to making a procedural with a pursuit worth viewing with plenty of murky characters twisting in the wind on both sides of the law that has a resounding and daring climax. There is quite enough hustle and bustle in a rough but sharp procedural with a good cast and Friedkin at the helm to make a solid movie worth viewing at least once as a film on the edge.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.