I tried to be unbiased going into watching this film, but I have to admit that it was very difficult for me to do so. I did not succeed 100% either.
I heard about the "Black Dahlia" case some 10 years ago, and I was only 14 or 15 when I saw what I did - an E! program called "Mysteries & Scandals". It was by far the most disturbing thing I have seen thus far. Even now, years later, after I have viewed numerous documentaries on criminals, psychopaths, etc., I still have not shaken the impression that this case left on me, nor has anything disturbed me to a greater degree than the photographs and details of Elizabeth Short's demise.
James Ellroy is a brilliant crime noir writer.I absolutely loved "LA Confidential", so I had very high hopes for this film adaption of his novel involving one of the most infamous unsolved murders of all time. What I want to preface my review by saying, however, is that if you are educated about the "facts" of the crime, you may want to prepare yourself for an absolutely fictionalized account of Betty Short's last days. Her murder is used as a centerpiece for the plot of this movie, but her death stands as an accessory to the muddled interaction between the main characters who are treated with much more importance than the person whom the film (and book)is named after.
I was very impressed with the acting in this movie.I didn't dislike anyone that I saw slated to star in it, but no one on the bill was someone that I would say "Wow, so and so is great in all of their movies!" about. Josh Hartnett has an eerily resonating noir detective voice as he pilots us through the events of the film from his point of view. His grief is believable as he sees the people he loves around him be destroyed physically and emotionally for different reasons and by different factors. Aaron Eckhart is more impressive as his paranoid, Black-Dahlia obsessed partner. Scarlett Johansson is the woman caught between the two of them. As glamorous and beautiful as she is, however, she doesn't stand out as much as her co-stars.
Hilary Swank is the crowning jewel in this varied mix of talent, playing the femme fatale Madeleine Linscott. You won't be able to take your eyes off of her, or keep your ears from hanging on her every word. She is seductive in one moment, callous in the next, then demure and innocent.
Mia Kirschner is not wrong for the part of Elizabeth Short, but she is not completely right for it either. She pulls her weight, and is believable, but there is still something missing that I can't quite place.
Visually, this film is beautiful, and you do get effectively caught up in the nostalgia of 1940's Hollywood. Brian de Palma does not take the atmosphere overboard. It's just right, and the viewer can get caught up in suspension of disbelief.
All in all, I think I would have enjoyed this film much more if I didn't go into it knowing about the crime. If you do have knowledge of what really happened, I suggest you leave it at the theater door. If you can do that, than I really think you will enjoy the film as a work of fiction. It has intrigue, romance, sex, crime, and just enough displays of the human "condition" to make you reflect and identify on a deeper level . . .
I heard about the "Black Dahlia" case some 10 years ago, and I was only 14 or 15 when I saw what I did - an E! program called "Mysteries & Scandals". It was by far the most disturbing thing I have seen thus far. Even now, years later, after I have viewed numerous documentaries on criminals, psychopaths, etc., I still have not shaken the impression that this case left on me, nor has anything disturbed me to a greater degree than the photographs and details of Elizabeth Short's demise.
James Ellroy is a brilliant crime noir writer.I absolutely loved "LA Confidential", so I had very high hopes for this film adaption of his novel involving one of the most infamous unsolved murders of all time. What I want to preface my review by saying, however, is that if you are educated about the "facts" of the crime, you may want to prepare yourself for an absolutely fictionalized account of Betty Short's last days. Her murder is used as a centerpiece for the plot of this movie, but her death stands as an accessory to the muddled interaction between the main characters who are treated with much more importance than the person whom the film (and book)is named after.
I was very impressed with the acting in this movie.I didn't dislike anyone that I saw slated to star in it, but no one on the bill was someone that I would say "Wow, so and so is great in all of their movies!" about. Josh Hartnett has an eerily resonating noir detective voice as he pilots us through the events of the film from his point of view. His grief is believable as he sees the people he loves around him be destroyed physically and emotionally for different reasons and by different factors. Aaron Eckhart is more impressive as his paranoid, Black-Dahlia obsessed partner. Scarlett Johansson is the woman caught between the two of them. As glamorous and beautiful as she is, however, she doesn't stand out as much as her co-stars.
Hilary Swank is the crowning jewel in this varied mix of talent, playing the femme fatale Madeleine Linscott. You won't be able to take your eyes off of her, or keep your ears from hanging on her every word. She is seductive in one moment, callous in the next, then demure and innocent.
Mia Kirschner is not wrong for the part of Elizabeth Short, but she is not completely right for it either. She pulls her weight, and is believable, but there is still something missing that I can't quite place.
Visually, this film is beautiful, and you do get effectively caught up in the nostalgia of 1940's Hollywood. Brian de Palma does not take the atmosphere overboard. It's just right, and the viewer can get caught up in suspension of disbelief.
All in all, I think I would have enjoyed this film much more if I didn't go into it knowing about the crime. If you do have knowledge of what really happened, I suggest you leave it at the theater door. If you can do that, than I really think you will enjoy the film as a work of fiction. It has intrigue, romance, sex, crime, and just enough displays of the human "condition" to make you reflect and identify on a deeper level . . .