Review of Black Dahlia (2006) by Timothy S — 27 Jun 2012

There is no doubt a great movie could be made of the grisly murder of Elizabeth Smart, and Brian DePalma is surely one director would be up for that task. However, "The Black Dahlia" is a cluttered mess of a movie, overstuffed with unnecessary plot lines and characters that only add to its muddled nature. There's so much going on here that only about half of it has to do with the murder, making this one huge missed opportunity.

DePalma has a great eye for detail, and that is clearly evident here, but there's only one scene that bears his trademark sense of style. The rest of this is pretty to look at, but ultimately bland and empty. The film is also horribly miscast. It was made at a time when Hollywood was still trying in vain to make Josh Hartnett a star, and his performance here shows exactly why that never happened. Hilary Swank had two Oscars under her belt, but she doesn't have what it takes to play a vampy femme fatale, and it's painful to watch.

And this film is so film noir-ish that they should have given cigarettes a supporting actor credit. People smoke so much in this that it's almost a joke, and certain other scenes also border on comical. Witness the dinner scene in which Swank's family, or really more specifically, any time her family is on screen. The scene where Hartnett solves the murder, which by the way is pure speculation since the actual crime has never been solved, looks like it could have been a "Saturday Night Live" skit.

Most of those scenes could have been cut out anyway since they add nothing to the story. A more factual take on this story would have been fascinating, but "The Black Dahlia" is more fiction than fact. That is disappointing to say the least.