Review of Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) by Jose M — 27 Jun 2011

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a big sucker for a good noir movie, and this has all the right things going for it: Riveting performances from both Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle (Cheadle's unsettling performance as a trigger-happy sociopath is unmissable) and an intricate narrative of double crosses and plot twists that are all neatly resolved by the end credits.

The fact that the protagonist is black, and that the sociological implications of race relations in post-war Los Angeles are examined is something that helps set this film apart from its predecessors.

Carl Franklin's direction coupled with Tak Fujimoto's adept cinematography put the final touches on what is an excellent production, and one of the hidden gems of the neo-noir movement.