Review of Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) by Alex P — 15 Nov 2007

This is an unjustly forgotten film, a compelling detective story that is incredibly well told. Denzel Washington is predictably excellent as Easy Rawlins, turning in another performance that exudes that exclusive Denzel brand of power and nobility. I will never get tired of watching that man act.

Tom Sizemore, as a seedy private eye, and Jennifer Beals, as the damsel in distress, also do some fine work in supporting roles.

But the real star of the show is Don Cheadle in the role that made him. The role is that of Mouse, Easy's trigger-happy childhood friend. There's a scene where Mouse, drunk off his ass and half-asleep, draws his gun on Easy and challenges him to a quick draw competition. Easy has to talk him down. Just watch this scene between Denzel and Don Cheadle and if you're not inspired and awestruck, then I don't want to know you.

Mouse also gives us one of the most memorable lines in the history of the genre:

"Man, if you didn't want him killed, then why did you leave him with me?".

Classic.

Here's the thing: Although the film was almost universally acclaimed by critics, it never really found an audience, and thus we were cheated of what was potentially one of the top film franchises ever. That's right, folks, this is based on the first of a series of award-winning novels that follow the adventures of Private Eye Easy Rawlins and his sidekick Mouse. Watching this just makes me sad, thinking about how we might be on like film five right now. They're apparently adapting another Easy Rawlins novel for the screen, but this one stars Jeffrey Wright as Easy and Mos Def as Mouse. Now, I like both of those actors a lot, but they're not Denzel and Don Cheadle. They're just not. If you're a fan of either of these extremely talented gentlemen, you owe it to yourself to give this a watch. I don't think you'll be disappointed.