The Black Dahlia
In 1946, after its much overdue delay, the world witnessed cinematic masterpiece known as “The Big Sleep.” Still today, that film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall has left critics and film goers confused and amazed in its engaging complexity. It stands also as one of director Howard Hawks’ most accomplished pieces of work among even some of the best films of the past era.
Now, in 2006, director Brian De Plama has returned to the dark and water ridden alleys of film noir style to create a visual and characteristically similar rendition of a once familiar experience with his new film, “The Black Dahlia.” Is De Palma’s so called homage to a noir masterpiece really the film we’ve been missing out on, or is it just another collection of old and unimproved ideas of the past?
Like “The Big Sleep,” “The Black Dahlia” is filled with style, complex plot narratives, and over-exaggerated instances of sex and violence. In De Palma’s “Dahlia,” the graphic violence comes at you like a brick through a window. Part of the story is based on the infamous death of a prostitute struggling to break into the movie business. She was mysteriously, and rather brutally cut in half at the torso in addition to a cut across her mouth from ear to ear. Found in the middle of a California field, the legend of the unsolved crime became known as “The Back Dahlia.”
The increasingly popular, and very talented Josh Hartnett once again breaks from his past and delivers the character of Officer Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert. He and his partner, Sgt. Leland “Lee” Blanchard, played by actor Aaron Eckhart, are assigned to the case of The Black Dahlia. The deeper they venture into the case, the two partners are put at odds with each other, as their obsessions bring out their darkest secrets. These discoveries fuel acts of revenge that all seem to center around Lee’s longtime friend/girlfriend named Kay. Scarlett Johansson dutifully portrays Kay, but becomes seeming lost among the scope of the picture. The confusion with “The Black Dahlia” comes when the motives of almost all of the main characters are hidden until the ending frames of the film, especially the mysterious suspect, Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank). Hartnett has you rooting for his character to come out clean, but the dark noir world of deceit and betrayal appropriately diminishes his existence. Too many characters makes for a confusing narrative and underdeveloped characters.
The style of camera work and set design compliments the old classic age of film noir, but the characters and especially the execution of the plot fills no justice to the classics. Consider films like “Chinatown.” This classic Academy Award winner, among itself, is a kick back to the noir era. A key performance by Jack Nicholson, unaltered settings, and believable presentations of lust and betrayal leave “Chinatown” in a new age of old ideas. “Chinatown’s” ideas come naturally, while “The Black Dahlia’s” are stylistically forced. Still, the conclusion to “The Black Dahlia” is extremely satisfying and leaves you somewhat shocked at its outcome. Filled, with De Palma’s eye for the unusually entertaining, “The Black Dahlia” remains an ultimately entertaining film.
For a first hand look at what noir picture of today should look like, go see the George Reeves mystery spectacle, “Hollywoodland.” This modern day example takes a world in which the story took place and lets the characters and events determine the style of the movie. For noir, is not all about the way a film looks, but the way every aspect among its construction can supply to its iconic style. “The Black Dahlia” has the style, but it’s lacking the substance.
The Black Dahlia
Rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and language
Runtime: 121 min.
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank
Directed by Brian De Palma
