Review of Black Dahlia (2006) by Matthew R — 10 Apr 2010

With the writer of "L.A. Confidential" and the director of "Scarface" and "The Untouchables," it's impossible to go into this movie without high hopes for a stellar cast, great sets and costumes, and the pace of an action-packed thriller. Yet, "The Black Dahlia" fails to impress with holes in the storyline filled only by pointless, bizarre sex scenes.

The film is based on the 1947 (still unsolved) murder of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short. She was young, beautiful, enthusiastic... and doomed to a cruel fate- which the movie reiterates several times as being murdered, slit at the mouth from ear to ear, cut in half and drained of blood, disemboweled... yes, the list actually goes longer. This is not a movie for the faint at heart, for the movie graphically shows various aspects of her corpse as well as the murder methods. Yet, as tragic as Elizabeth's scenario is, it does not seem to be the focus of the movie. There are essentially four main characters: Bucky (Josh Hartnett) and Lee (Aaron Eckhart) are partners in the police homicide department, Kay (Scarlett Johansson) is Lee's girlfriend, and Madeleine (Hilary Swank) is a rich woman who's confused with her sexuality. From these ingredients, when mixed with an actress' death, there is much potential.But make no mistake, there is little to no character development. The audience does not care what happens to the characters- the acting's good if dry, but not rich; the audience views them as pawnsmoved around with few human elements.For instance, Johansson wears the same expression for the entire movie, an odd mixture of both shock and boredom.

As the running time starts to run down, the pieces of the case are scrambled together in such a sloppy way, it is truly a distraction for the audience. It's not entirely predictable, but the Black Dahlia isn't surprising, considering the rest of the film is unfilling and mediocre.

Story: C.

Acting: C.

Direction: D.

Visuals: B.

Overall: C.

** out of 4 stars.