True Confessions is a 1981 film directed by Ulu Grosbard, based on the Black Dahlia murder case in 1947. The film stars Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall. It was produced by Chartoff-Winkler Productions. It is based on the novel of the same name by John Gregory Dunne.
Plot Summary
In the post-war 1940s, Desmond Spellacy is a young and ambitious Roman Catholic monsignor in the Los Angeles archdiocese. His older brother Tom is a hard-working homicide detective with the L.A. police department. They are fond of each other, but spend little time together.
Des is the pride and joy of aging Cardinal Danaher because of his skill at developing church projects while keeping down costs. He cuts a corner now and then, overlooking the shady side of construction mogul Jack Amsterdam, a devout Catholic who uses his ties to the Monsignor for the congregation's benefit but mainly for his own.
One day in L.A., a young woman is found brutally murdered. Tom Spellacy and his partner, Frank Crotty, are put in charge of the case. The woman, a Lois Fazenda, is labeled "the Virgin Tramp" by the local press for apparently being a Catholic as well as a prostitute, turning it into a sensational case.
Tom Spellacy's investigation leads him to a local madam, Brenda Samuels. He was well acquainted with Brenda years earlier while working as a "bag man" for Amsterdam, whose corruption extends to the local prostitution ring. Tom believes the dead girl appeared in a stag film and wants Brenda's help in tracking down who made it.
The policeman rues having ever worked for Amsterdam and provokes him face-to-face one day while having lunch with his brother the priest. His insinuations and facts about Amsterdam's dark side make the Monsignor increasingly uncomfortable. Des tells the Cardinal the time has come to cut church ties with Amsterdam for good.
Tom Spellacy's anger builds as his brother organizes a Catholic "layman of the year" banquet for Amsterdam as a gesture of appreciation before ending the church's relationship with him. When a local pornographer, now deceased, appears to be guilty of the girl's murder, Tom wants to drag in Amsterdam for questioning simply to humiliate him in public.
A lawyer, Dan Campion, subtly warns the Monsignor that his brother the cop had better lay off unless they want it revealed publicly that Des, too, knew the murdered girl. She met the Monsignor only once in passing, whereas she had a sexual relationship with both Amsterdam and the lawyer. But the simple fact that Des had any kind of involvement in such a lurid case could permanently stain his reputation with the church.
Tom Spellacy won't be talked out of it. His determination becomes complete when Brenda is found dead, an apparent suicide. He decides to have Amsterdam picked up and taken to headquarters, which in turn leads to the Monsignor being treated the same way.
His rising career curtailed, Des asks to be relocated to a remote parish in the desert. By the time Tom comes to see him, many years later, Des is dying from heart failure. Tom feels everything is his fault, but Des is at peace and absolves his brother of any and all blame.
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