The murder of Elizabeth Short (aka “The Black Dahlia”) has
fascinated the public since her body was discovered in a field on the
outskirts of Hollywood in 1947. Ellroy's story focuses on two
detectives investigating the crime. As their personal and public lives
spiral closer together it becomes clear that the murder of the Black
Dahlia is only the surface of a much deeper plot.
DePalma pulls
out all the film noir stops with this effort. For the most part it is a
pleasure to watch. Shadows and music from a dance hall pervade the
atmosphere, even if the sepia tones do become too much sometimes. There
are some interesting, if familiar, shots which manage to capture the
ostensibly accidental, but oh-so-stylish character of film noir as a
genre. The mood is all but set for mystery, betrayal and femmes fatales.
Of
concern, however, is the stylised violence with which the murder is
presented. DePalma has come under fire for the beautiful victimisation
of women before. This effort is stellar. In a movie about one of the
most gruesome murders in popular culture, the camera barely graces the
hideously mutilated body at all. In fact, it comes very close to
presenting the entire matter as erotica for the consumption of a mass
audience.
Scarlett Johansson and Aaron Eckhart shine in the
period setting. Johansson was clearly born to the wrong generation, she
is probably the only actress since Audrey Hepburn who could pull off a
cigarette holder. Josh Hartnett, on the other hand, struggles as the
cop who is meant to have a past. But actually looks so lost that he may
have just came from the high school dance himself.
The
narrative, though, is what really lets the film down. It's a golden
rule of film production that the audience will follow a plot through
cause and effect links. One thing leads to another until, finally, we
have the big conclusion.
Now either The Black Dahlia
doesn't have these links, or I blinked and missed them. So ten points
to anyone who can tell me what was going on and why. No doubt Ellroy's
novel has all of the elements which make a great story. But there were
just too many of them to put on the screen in a coherent manner.
Thankfully the conclusion is fluffy enough to leave to viewer satisfied
that all is well.
We're just not sure why or how.
EXTRASSadly,
nothing on offer here. It could have had something to do with the films
poor turn at the Box Office (making a measly $20 million at the US Box
Office, with an estimated budget of over $50 Million). None the
less, a documentary on the real life murder case, or a featurette on
how DePalma achieved the look of the film could have come in handy.
Leaving this disc slightly disappointing. Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: N/A 
|
