Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey are at their dazzling best as three cops pounding separate beats in those Fifties LA mean streets when a mass murder in a diner proves to be a coverup. How the cops fall out, band up and shoot it out with the bad guys is the nub of an engrossing, hard-as-nails story, crisply, atmospherically and brilliantly told. The complex film noir-style plot involves a muck-raking gossip columnist (Danny DeVito) and the smooth operator (David Strathairn) of a call-girl ring of film star lookalikes, one of whom (Oscar-winning Kim Basinger) falls for Crowe and gets him to crack the case. Spacey's character was loosely based on Dean Martin. Director Curtis Hanson had to battle studio bosses to cast two Aussies in the American star roles. Mickey Rooney's autobiography refers to The T&M Studio, a real-life call-girl ring of film star lookalikes.
