Reviews

Black Dahlia

The murder of Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia) is a gruesome and brutal story. Seeing autopsy and crime scene photos delivers a one two punch to the gut. Brian De Palma delivers a one and quarter punch with his movie version of Black Dahlia.

I’m not a big De Palma fan. HBO has better programming standards than the Untouchables did. Even for a movie made 19 years ago it’s cheesy. Black Dahlia is slightly ahead of the curve. While Dahlia didn’t feel like boys pretending to be coppers in the street it failed to pull me into its story.

So much happens during the two hours of Black Dahlia that left me wondering, “Was that intentional?” Josh Hartnett is a passable actor but the subject matter is out of his reach. He’s better suited for movies like Black Hawk Down and Lucky # Slevin. Unfortunately Hartnett is the most solid actor in Black Dahlia. Scarlett Johansson puts in all the stops to give the performance of an action figure. Aaron Eckhart is an over the top, hulk like creature who doesn’t turn green. If you fork out the cash and see this movie try to figure out if the actors are playing their parts or if they’re supposed to be acting like actors from the 40’s.

All this odd acting peaks during a dinner scene. The characters look straight into the camera and chatter away. It’s supposed to give you the perspective of the detective but comes off as a 1940’s version of Mtv Cribs. While at the dinner table the drunken mother begins ranting. The audience began chuckling. When the mother makes another appearance later in the film the audience erupted with laughter. I’ve seen a lot of drunken people. None of them have ever acted like this. Imagine asking an 80 year old southern Baptist woman to act like a drunken soccer mom. Now have a 50 year old soccer mom impersonate the elderly southern Baptist. Oscar worthy I tells ya!

De Palma seems to change directing styles throughout Black Dahlia. Some scenes are soft focus with low contrasting tones giving the film an older, authentic feel. Next scene is sharp focus, high contrast and looks like someone is filming a dress rehearsal. Then there are scenes that can’t seem to stay in focus. Apparently the assistant director had a “cootie catcher” making De Palma pick a color and number. This would determine the directing style for the day.

Now, I won’t spoil the movie but if plan on going to the theater perhaps you should stop reading now.

Black Dahlia is right at two hours long. Huge chunks of the movie stray from the case to focus on the lives of the two detectives and their love triangle. Personally I bought a ticket to see a movie about the investigation of Elizabeth Short’s murder. If I wanted to see “Scar Jo” in a weak love story I’d watch Lost in Translation. Black Dahlia would have been a total bomb if nothing tied up in the end. Thankfully it does but it’s a mixed bag as some of the revelations and character actions hit various points of absurdity.

I did enjoy Black Dahlia. I was also disappointed considering all the praise the film received. Truth is De Palma’s Dahlia is forgettable. As time passes the people will remember Black Dahlia while forgetting the names Elizabeth Short and Brian De Palma.

6/10
Andy