Murder, mutilation, tension ... and fountains! (The Black Dahlia (DVD))

Name: Miss Gretta

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Product:	The Black Dahlia (DVD)
Date:	16/05/07 (245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Slick, atmospheric film, some excellent (if underutilised) actors

Disadvantages: Struggles to adequately contain and control all the complexity of the novel it's based on

Before starting my review of this DVD let me say that I was surprised to read the vehement attacks on the film in the reviews that other users have written. It made me re-evaluate my opinion for a moment, and to be honest it may be that some of my enjoyment of the film was a sort of carry-over from my enjoyment of James Ellroy’s novel, but then I figured that if I got some entertainment out of it, maybe others will too. Either way, good to have some varying opinions, right?!

So, the story centres around one of the most mysterious unsolved murders in American history, which the extensive media coverage dubbed the Black Dahlia. The murder was one of the most gruesome of the era and caused a lot of fear and concern in Hollywood at the time. The victim, Elizabeth Short, was an attractive young woman who had moved to LA and was trying desperately to break into the film industry and of course the media made good use of the pin-up style photographs that were available of the pretty, dark-haired victim to romanticise the case. James Ellroy’s novel, upon which the film is based, takes the murder case as the core of the story and adds around it the interacting lives of two LAPD detectives and their loved ones. Thus both the novel and the film extend beyond the genre of historical fiction and become stories in their own rite.

Set in 1940s California, the film has a distinctive Noir feel to it, although it doesn’t sink far enough into this genre to become pigeon-holed by it. The Noir element is captured in the predominantly dark and shadowy shots and tight angles, the often sparse and moody dialogue, and the atmosphere of smoky tension that pervades the film. The essence of the times is faithfully recreated with genuine era costumes – wardrobe obviously did a great job of resisting the temptation to go too far with the clothing and instead stuck close to what would have been the reality of the times with each of the male leads have only a couple of different suits, painstakingly located and restored cars, and both interior and exterior sets. The police station particularly feels very true- to-life.

To give a brief overview, the story is narrated by one of the male leads, Bucky Bleichert, played with appropriate reserve by Josh Hartnett. Bucky is a young cop and former light-heavy-weight boxer who is isolated and uninspired, weighed down by his responsibilities as a low-level officer and a carer for his aging and increasingly senile father. Through a quirk of fate, Bucky becomes something of a hero in the department when he agrees to participate in an exhibition boxing match with another officer, Lee Blanchard (played by the gregarious and deliciously smarmy Aaron Eckhart), designed to increase public approval of the police force. After the fight Bucky is promoted and he and Lee become partners.

Lee has his own skeletons in the closet, many revolving around his relationship with Kay Lake (Scarlett Johanssen), whom he loves but does not have a sexual relationship with. The two cops and the beautiful Kay find happiness and friendship together, at least for a short time. The halcyon days come to an abrupt end when the mutilated body of Elizabeth Short is discovered. The partners take different views on how to approach the case, with Bucky wanting to focus on more immediate matters, such as tracking a known killer who is own the loose, and leave the murder investigation to the Homicide detectives. But, heedless of Bucky’s advice, Lee becomes more and more obsessed with the case, taking drugs to allow him to continue working without cease. Bucky tries to comfort Kay and protect her whilst not wanting to betray his partner; and the delicate balance of the triangular friendship is broken.

From this point in, the film follows the characters who seem to be caught in the quicksand of madness, brutality, and obsession that the Black Dahlia case spreads in its wake. Bucky delves further into the investigation, attempting to bring his partner’s free-fall to a halt, but finds himself caught like an insect in a spider’s web by the seductive Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), a rich, nymphomaniac Dahlia copy-cat, who may know a lot more about the case than she’s letting on.

One of the film’s strengths is the fine line that it walks between having stylised, Noir-esque characters, whilst still making them 3-dimensional enough to be at least superficially believable. From the thoroughly devious and twisted yet wounded, Madeleine, to the by-all-appearances perfectly manicured and turned out Kay, who was actually previously made to prostitute herself by an abusive pimp, and the two cops with their efforts to outrun their pasts, the film manages to retain its slick, moody veneer while still providing some depth. Admittedly, this is perhaps not achieved as well as it is in the novel.

Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables) directs with an experienced eye and admirable restraint. This film could easily have degenerated into something bordering on B-grade slasher in the hands of a more trigger-happy director, but De Palma knows that a little, well-timed and well-executed violence does a lot more for shock value and tension than an all-out splatter fest. There is, however, a moment of violent abandon to look out for involving a seemingly-innocent fountain that relives some of De Palma’s Scarface glory. There are only a couple of noticeable flaws in direction, in my opinion, but these do feel quite awkward and clumsy. One of these is the very short and scantily covered segment when the mystery of the murder begins to become clarified (I won’t say more than that for fear of giving away the story) – this section of the film felt both forced and rushed to me, and could have been handled with a lot more sensitivity. I should point out, however, that the novel is very complex and it must have been a hell of a task to reduce it to fit into a feature film format.

The acting, I thought, was great and there were a number of interesting or out-of-character performances. I don’t usually like Josh Hartnett but I think he suited the role very well in this case, if some people view his performance as wooden then to me that was appropriate for the character – Bucky is supposed to be a character tormented by his own inner demons and who tries to hide much of his true emotion from the world. Scarlett Johanssen is elegant and beautiful as Kay, although she has the raw acting talent to carry off the more emotional scenes when the character discusses her dark past. It is a shame actually that she doesn’t get more of a chance to stretch her acting muscles.

Hillary Swank plays an unusual role for her as the femme fatale, Madeleine, and whilst she is versatile enough and certainly attractive enough to fill the role adequately I think there could have been better choices. A stand-out in the supporting actors for me was Fiona Shaw, who gives a comic but also very disturbing portrayal of the wealthy, middle-aged, and pill-addicted Ramona Linscott. Mia Kirshner is coquettishly creepy as the dead actress, Elizabeth Short, who is introduced to the audience through a series of film tests from her auditions with various studios (trivia: Brian De Palma’s voice is used in the film tests as the voice of the director). I can relate to comments by critics and other reviewers that the some of the actors, who are known for more voluble acting performances, are a disappointment in the film but to me the restraint and sometimes almost stereotypical performances contribute to the film’s Noir elements – this film is not supposed to be a completely realistic drama.

As for the extras on the DVD, I thought these were really interesting, if slightly self-congratulating. Usually on DVDs I find that if there are any extras (other than just the theatrical trailer or something meaningless like that), they are uninteresting and contrived. In this case I actually watched the mini-documentary about the historical facts of the murder investigation and I was particularly interested in the interview with James Ellroy and hearing his motivations for writing the novel.

All in all I’d say this is an entertaining film for a couple of hours of fun. It isn’t ground-breaking or brilliant but it is an adequate adaptation of a great novel. There are certain points of weakness in the film, most likely as a result of trying to fit a very detailed and complex story into a relatively short time, but the moody atmosphere and some interesting scenes make up for this in my opinion.

Summary: Entertaining film for a quiet evening, but nothing to write home about