Review of The Black Dahlia (2006) by Lori007101 — 17 Dec 2018

The murder case of the black dahlia, in a style of film noir! Director Brian De Palma takes us with us, in 1947, the City of Angels. Two half-off boxers and best friends of the Police Department, hunt down mafia bosses, petty criminals and corrupt police officers. As they stumbling into the fall of the black dahlia, the two friends go to their limits. Actually, the thriller is coherent if De Palma, the story, had told something more profoundly. The story does not progress and the characters remain weak and boring. The character of hero Bucky Bleichert is portrayed by Josh Hartnett. One finds, however, that Hartnett is somewhat overpowered with his role. Hartnett plays his part but seems tense. Even the self-assured Scarlett Johansson seems rather pale and helpful here, in her role.

The top two roles have Aaron Eckhart, who happily plays his role as Lee Blanchard to the limit, and Hilary Swank, who personifies a mysterious femme fatale. The camera is also well positioned and goes along with the action. No wonder cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was nominated for an Oscar here. For the point of view here is not only directed to the general, but also focuses the faces of the individual persons, of whom one does not know which side of the law they are on. The screenplay was written here by James Ellroy. He actually mixed the real case of the black dahlia with some fiction of the film industry. In the film, the killer was also posed. In truth, though, the Black Dahlia case has never been solved. Even though it's that the story has been cleared up, the whole thing is largely left behind and the film's course, runs with the handbrake put on. Verdict: You're better used to De Palma.