To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

Even with the toe kneading, we have a movie that is exciting, irritating, nasty around the edges and a pleasure to watch.

To Live and Die in L. A., in my opinion, is a first-class movie, just as a scoop of jamocha almond fudge is a great cone. But it's unnerving when after three or four satisfying licks of jamocha all of a sudden you're handling the taste of tutti-frutti. What the...but then you're back quickly to the jamocha...wait a minute, now I've got a taste of raspberry-pumpkin to deal with.

William Friedkin's movie about a murderous counterfeiter and an obsessed, out-of-control Secret Service agent who is determined to kill or capture him has many pleasures. Among them is Willem Dafoe as Rick Masters, a first-rate counterfeiter, a second-rate artist, a clever man with a big, cunning ego and a dangerous lack of humanitarian standards. Masters is a killer, and Dafoe, with his bony face, full lips and watchful eyes -- and outstanding acting talent -- makes the most of the part. There's a terrific, white-knuckle car chase through a truck-crowded produce market and then the wrong way on a crowded freeway. And Friedkin makes the most of the story, from telling us all we would ever want to know about how to counterfeit $20 bills, and doing so in fascinating detail, to building a gallery of sleazy criminals, used women and all-too-flawed cops. The drive to bring down Rick Masters is built up of set piece after set piece, each a building block which is put in place with a great deal of assurance. I enjoyed myself no end. But in a disconcerting way, while I could see the superb talents of the director who gave us The French Connection (a great film), The Night They Raided Minsky's (a bit of burlesque nostalgia put together with skill) and The Exorcist (a huge crowd pleaser), there also were enough "why did he include this?" moments that brought to mind the whole string of movies he's made that just didn't work well. Friedkin throws in everything from a toe-kneading lesbian subtext, unnecessary full frontal (for a second or two) male nudity, an easily ironic "who's the tough guy now" closing and a climax reminiscent of the Frankenstein monster staggering around in flames. Friedkin even mars that nerve-wracking, over-the-top car chase, which is as technically exciting as The French Connection's chase, by throwing in the silly illogic of all those guys in black cars and with semi-automatics popping up along the route. Distracting? Yes. Intentional? I'm afraid so.

Among the elements that made The French Connection so powerful and entertaining were two great actors, Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey. To Live and Die in L. A. has some fine actors, but none come close to the defining work of Hackman and Rey. Dafoe stands out of the crowd, but, in my opinion, that's it. As William Chance, the obsessed Secret Service agent, we have William Peterson, a baby-faced actor playing a baby-faced hotshot tough guy. He's saddled with such corny tough guy dialogue as, "Let me tell you something, amigo. I'm going to bag Masters and I don't give a ---- how I do it!" or (with a snarl) "You mean you won't carry your weight if something goes down?" While Masters becomes more ruthless as the story unfolds and, in a perverse way, becomes more dominant because of his sense of humor and weird charm, Chance simply becomes more self-involved, more predictable and more unlikable. However, there is a surprise 104 minutes into the movie that solves part of the problem.

To Live and Die in L. A. has so many excellent elements that I ended up wishing Friedkin had employed more self-discipline in his choice of the elements he used to embroider the story. It would be sad indeed to see a director like William Friedkin tagged as the man who had two big hits, and then everything after for 35 years was either flawed, a failure or dull. To Live and Die in L. A. runs nearly two hours. If Friedkin had been forced to edit it down by, say 15 minutes, I think he might have had something approaching The French Connection's powerful tension. As it is, we have a movie that is exciting, irritating, nasty around the edges and a pleasure to watch. July 16, 2008

To LIve and Die in L.A.

Excelent crime drama that has it all; Fantastic chase scene, detective mystery, lots of action, good suspense and an unexpected ending. June 2, 2008

Old but really good!

If you like William Peterson, here is your chance to see him when he was a
whole lot younger. He is still cute but in To Live and Die in L.A., he was
HOT. Interesting movie, lots of twists to hold your attention, too. This
movie has the BEST chase scene ever. The French Connection had a good
chase scene, but this one is GREAT. Going the wrong way an a ramp in LA is
too good! May 29, 2008

A Keeper

Director William Friedkin sets a monumental anchor piece between his great work in "The French Connection" and every "Miami Vice"-styled car chase shoot-em-up since. If you were too young to see this when it came out or missed this somehow, "To Live and Die in L.A" is still a very worthy and compelling film and has aged well despite the preponderence of 80's synth-poppers Wang Chung in the soundtrack.

Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William L. Petersen) leads a depressed life that involves an affair with an informer/strip club gal played by Darlene Fluegel. When his partner is unmercifully gunned down by a crony of a shifty counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe), Chance is pushed to action to avenge his friends demise. Along the way a spectrum a creeps and lowlifes help or hamper his quest. Manipulative lawyers, cagey stoolpigeons, ghetto passers of funny money, amoral fences and jaded exotic dancers are all part of the fun. There are some good twists and the writing is highly imaginative. It's easy to see how "To Live and Die in L.A" has influenced a lot of later cop and "buddy" movies though the tone here is serious and the action in abundance. May 2, 2008

William Friedkin Speaks

After listening several times to the wonderfully informative and insightful commentary track director William Friedkin recorded for the DVD release of 'The Exorcist' I decided to try some other of his films and check out the commentaries they offer. It turns out that his approach to the commentary for 'To Live & Die in L.A.' is utterly different than that of 'The Exorcist'. For 'The Exorcist he focused completely on the story, character motivations, and themes of wide range and scope. For 'To Live & Die in L.A. he sticks pretty close to describing how the film was made, his impressions of each of the actors, and the development of the plot. It was interesting throughout and worth the time to listen in. I am certain that I'll re-watch the film sometime soon and re-visit the commentary as well. April 27, 2008

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