seamy

Though the case featured sometimes seamy discussion of sex and tabloid industry practices, the actual charges concern something decidedly less flashy: reimbursements Trump signed for Cohen for the payments.

It could also allow Trump to drag the case into the seamy tabloid waters that he has been swimming in for decades.

Working with cinematographer Robby Müller, Friedkin puts a Los Angeles on screen that is equal parts glamorous and seamy, where even the palm tree in the movie’s logo looks like a gunshot wound.

But for fans of those seamy places where art and smut intersect, this movie is a nasty little treat.

There’s no seamy underside to these works, which are both elegant and modern, as if there is no contradiction between the two ideas.