Quickie: THE BLACK DAHLIA

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The Black Dahlia (2006)–*1/2
Quickie Review

Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) is a former boxed turned cop who befriends another boxing cop Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart). The two get close after fighting for an LAPD publicity stunt. When the stunt goes in the LAPD’s favor, Bleichert gets a nice bonus check and joins Blanchard at homicide. There the headline grabbing partners take down some of L.A.’s top criminals

The biggest headline, however, comes after a woman is found cut in half, disemboweled and desanguinated with her smile made to stretch from ear to ear. The case tears the pair apart and threatens Lee’s marriage with his wife Kay (Scarlett Johansson). As it destroys relationships, the case also leads to a bigger body count and an unlikely conclusion.

If Brian De Palma does one thing with The Black Dahlia, it’s proving he’s no Tarantino. The highly stylized production feels like it lives in the noir genre instead of acting as the period piece that the story really demands. De Palma focuses so heavily on distracting technique and on his own obsession with grisly violence that the chronic miscasting and inconsistent acting is overlooked.

The Black Dahlia is based on L.A. Confidential writer James Ellroy’s novel. Had the film been in the hands of confident Hollywood-style director like Confidential’s Curtis Hanson, it would have worked. Instead we get a stylistically interesting film with an urge to get to the ending without taking the time to make sense along the way.