A couple days ago I watched Drive which pays much homage to the 1980's. I think it might have been trying to reach To Live and Die in L.A. for its style and over the top execution. Noted for its action sequences, particularly its famous car chase scene, I think To Live and Die in L.A. is actually more memorable for its performances and human drama.
This movie is a tough and gritty crime drama but what differentiates it from most is in its moral ambiguity. The protagonist of the film, Chance, is a secret service agent hell bent on bringing down Eric Masters, a counterfeiter that killed his partner. He gradually cares less and less about rules and procedures and becomes more reckless in his pursuit. Chase's new partner John asks, "Why don't you just go straight to Masters's house and blow his brains out? That's what you want anyways right?" I think Chase would if he could legally get away with it.
I think films from the 80's typically age worse than films from any other era for a variety reasons. Two are purely cosmetic but can be ultra distracting in a film; fashion and music. Nothing dates a movie more than faded jeans, white sneakers and those crazy hair styles. Luckily this film has a little more sense in style, it sort of plays like Miami Vice but set in L.A. in this regard, but it is noticeable here and there. Then, of course, is the music. There isn't a trashier sounding era than the 80's and I actually like a lot of songs from the 80's. I can deal with it, but I definitely prefer more classical sounding scores made with instruments rather than synthesizers and such. I'm sure the soundtrack sounded hip back in 1985, but it is more of a novelty now in 2011.
I also feel for some reason picture quality really took a huge step back in the 1980's. Remember those old home videos made with VHS tapes back in the day? That is how a lot of movies from the 1980's look. There are some parts of this movie that looks really bad even if they are technically well shot. Compare these pictures to movies made from the 40's to the 60's. A lot of those movies looked really good. (I'm sure Technicolor and black and white had a lot to do with that though.) Anyways enough about my 80's rant.
Despite all of that, To Live and Die in L.A. holds up pretty well in other ways. Its dark and cynical tone definitely jibes more with today's audience than stories starring super moralistic heroes. The characters are more complicated than simple good guys and bad guys. There is the grey area that the heroes are constantly crossing. I've read that the film can almost be considered nihilistic and that makes a lot of sense especially when considering how the final showdown goes down in the end. Stuff happens but there is not much fanfare about it. Quick, simple, no music or dramatic cuts. It just happens.
I enjoyed the performances. The characters are a bit over the top, but it fits in well with the film's style. I particularly liked watching William Defoe as Eric Masters. It's weird seeing him so young, but it is most definitely him; he has that calm ruthlessness in his face.
Oh, and the film's most famous moment is undoubtedly its car chase scene which is routinely listed in lists of best movie car chases. This film was directed by William Friedkin who also directed The French Connection which also has a memorable car chase (or so I'm told; I haven't seen the movie yet.) The scene is pretty good, though it would have never occurred to me while watching it that I was watching one of the best scenes ever of that type. It does involve a pretty crazy feat though that would still be impressive today, driving against moving traffic at high speeds. The best car chase scene I've ever seen is probably in Ronin, which does the same thing; perhaps that movie owes its inspiration to this one.
Solid action drama.
Grade: B
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