To Live and Die in LA (1985)

If The French Connection embodies the aesthetic of a cop procedural built in 1971, then William Friedkin's To Live and Die in LA embodies those same hard-nosed qualities as passed through the pop filter of the mid-80's. Sharing more than a number of passing similarities (including a shockingly bleak conclusion), To Live and Die is essentially an 80's update to Friedkin's landmark classic, with a whack of Wang Chung thrown in for good measure.

Here again is the breathtaking car chase, punctuating the drama in the last act of the film without feeling like an unnecessary action served for action's sake (and it's a doozy, especially when things get onto the freeway!) Here again is the plot that concentrates on a couple of hard-working detectives chasing false leads, reluctant informants and trying with their most sober faces to penetrate crime's inner circle. Like Friedkin's earlier film, the movie begins as a formulaic cops-and-robbers thriller, but quickly jumps the rails into fresh and unpredictable territory (the third act in particular delights with twists and surprises: one final scene in particular shocked me by circumventing expections and completely rewriting the final minutes of the movie...I won't spoil, but people familiar with the movie will know the scene of which I write. I had to rewatch the scene just to make sure I hadn't confused myself.)

First impression watching the movie was similar to my first impression of Michael Mann's Manhunter: William Peterson seemed to be playing a younger model of CSI's Gil Grishom, sniffing out a case with rigid determination and professionalism. (In fact, both Manhunter and To Live and Die share a great deal in common, dressed though they may be in very different 80's stylings; there's very little neon to be found in Friedkin's film.) However, unlike those other characters, Peterson's professionalism deteriorates into obsession as his CIA agent character throws aside the rules to catch an uncatchable counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe). By the time the chase escalates to a sprint, there is no resemblance to be found between Peterson's other, more famous, cop roles. Corruption builds and while the viewer shares Peterson's passion to catch the crook (his partner was killed after all), an awkward disconnect begins to happen with his methods of bending the rules to do so. Especially as he ropes in his new and less flexible partner.

[Special mention: Willem Dafoe plays an especially smarmy villain not afraid to wear a turtleneck to a dangerous money-exchange. Dare I say he's almost preppy?]

If there is any fault to be found with To Live and Die (and frankly, there isn't really), one could fault the trappings of the 80's cop formula made popular in Miami Vice, including the faceless henchmen with the automatic weapons and the fashion model girlfriends wandering nakedly like so much set-dressing. But then, these are precisely the things that mark To Live and Die as a relic of the mid-80's and sometimes when carbon-dating points to 1985, it can be a good thing. Especially when the package is assured and lean as this film.

Did I mention that soundtrack? Wang Chung-alicious!