Random Mexican’s Movie Reviews

Sunday, September 17, 2006
Movie Reviews: THE BLACK DAHLIA
In theaters

THE BLACK DAHLIA



In 1940s Los Angeles, two cops, Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and his partner, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart), investigate the death of Elizabeth Short (Mira Kirshner), a young woman found brutally murdered. Bucky soon realizes that Lee's significant other, Kay (Scarlett Johansson), had ties to the deceased, and soon after that, he begins uncovering corruption and conspiracy within the police department.



Cast Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart, Mia Kirshner, Rose McGowan (more)



Director(s) Brian De Palma



Writer(s) Josh Friedman



Status In theaters (wide)



Genre(s) Dramas, Murder, Cops, Adaptation, Crime, Actresses, Based On A Novel



Release Date Sept. 15, 2006



Running Time 121 minutes



MPAA Rating R - for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and language.

Review:

Brian De Palma's Black Dahlia an interesting film. De Palma tries to recreate the feel of classic film noir with varying success. Sometimes the film just feels totally right with some dialogue and music just hitting the correct note. Other times, it's horrible and even laughably bad. De Palma uses classic noir style music, dialogue and techniques giving the film a very interesting appearance and look. Sadly, the movie fails to deliver for the most part. This movie has so much going on that it's difficult to keep up with which plot thread is being established or wrapped up. Even worse, the actual Dahlia murder is put on the back burner for most of the movie and seems to be brought up again at the end as more of an afterthought. The acting is also a mixed bag, most of the cast, especially Hillary Swank, deliver very stilted performances. Scarlett Johansson seem to be the most comfortable in her role, she seems like she would have fit right in back in classic noir film. Overall this film is an interesting idea that just isn't executed very well, it's a shame because this should be a better film but it just doesn't work.

C-