| THE BLACK DAHLIA |
 2006 - USADirector: Brian De Palma
- Reviewed by Bryley
The Black Dahlia, which takes place in late 1940’s Hollywood, is a fictional account of the hunt for the killer of the Elisabeth Short, dubbed the “The Black Dahlia”. The true crime story had all the element needed to capture the city’s attention: a beautiful young woman found brutally murdered, salacious press coverage, and no one ever convicted of the crime. Full disclosure: I had just finished James (L.A Confidential) Ellory’s novel, “The Black Dahlia,” which I adored, so my hopes were high that the movie could rise more than it did to the level of the novel. Now, I know that this is a slippery slope, as movies rarely meet the standard set by a good book, so I was prepared to let some plot, story, and characters go in the attempt to boil 337 pages into a movie. However, the elements that the movie chose to abbreviate—and just down right ignore—did nothing to help the audience follow the plot or motivations of the characters. Though the costumes were great, everyone smoked Old Gold’s, and Scarlett Johansen wore some very fetching hats, it was not enough to save this confusing fractured mess of a movie. The murder of The Black Dahlia seemed a minor detail for most of the plot and the motivations of the cops Lee Blanchard (Aaron Echkhardt) and Dwight “Bucky” Bleichart (Josh Hartnett) to find her killer were unclear. Why is Lee so obsessed? Why does Bucky try so hard to get them off the case, only to become obsessed? Why were the other characters in the movie there and why do we need to know their stories? Performance wise, Scarlett Johansson seemed a bit off—I got the sense she spent too much time prancing around with a cigarette holder in her hand trying to be a “40’s screen siren” than putting much into the role of Kay Lake. Hilary “My Face has More Angles than a Picasso” Swank, as Madeleine Linscott, fared better as a femme fatale, but again, I was left thinking, “Hey, it’s Hilary Swank... but from the 40’s!” Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett were fine, but neither were especially remarkable. The film did have some fine moments—and I mean moments. Mainly, Fiona Shaw’s performance as Madeleine’s mother, and the demented wife of the brusque conniving real-estate developer, stole the show. The boxing scenes, Elisabeth Short’s screen tests and the opening riot scenes stand out as well. By the time the movie reached the last few acts and an attempt was made to pull the pieces together, it was not enough to make us care. It is a shame, because the truly memorable moments make the confusion that much more apparent. |
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It is a bad sign when, in what one assumes is a pivotal moment, everyone in the theater collective says, “What the #$*! is going on?” This sums up Brian De Palma’s The Black Dahlia.
