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

Directed by William Friedkin. Starring William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Darlanne Fluegel, John Turturro, Dean Stockwell, Debra Feuer, Steve James, Michael Greene, Robert Downey Sr., Michael Chong. [R]

Cynical, brutally amoral action thriller, a pulse-pounding neo-noir baked under the searing California sun (think: a violent, profane West Coast riff on “Miami Vice”). Aptly-named Secret Service agent, Richard Chance (Petersen), above the law and living on the edge, is hell-bent on taking down cold-blooded counterfeiter Dafoe; how long before the line between cop and criminal is blurred beyond recognition, and will Chance take his straight-arrow new partner (Pankow) to hell with him? Technique and attitude carry the film end to end, ceaselessly cracking away at a foundation of intertwined fixation and recklessness; its superficial sheen conceals little worth puzzling over, but the picture still offers the sort of glamorous details that most other genre pieces treat like obstacles to the machine-tool precision of the plot and required death-and-destruction. Further complementing the stylized 80s aesthetic, Wang Chung provides the stimulating rock score (their breakthrough hit song, “Dance Hall Days,” can be heard at a strip club). May not cater to all tastes since the protagonist is anything but a likable hero, and both sides of the law make several very dumb decisions over the course of the movie, but those “flaws” are part of why it feels so valid and refreshing today. Friedkin and Gerald Petievich loosely adapted the script from the latter’s crime novel. Jane Leeves and Gary Cole have small roles.

92/100