Just to make sure: Black Dahlia is the nickname given to the unfortunate Elizabeth Short. She was a young girl who moved from Maine to California to find success and happiness, but all she got was an excruciatingly painful death. Elizabeth's corpse was so barbarically mutilated that the case deployed a huge police investigation and massive media attention, but the culprit was never identified. The murder took place in Hollywood, in January of 1947.
Given the title and the director's (previous) fame and reputation, I was obviously expecting a tense, absorbing, and insightful mystery/thriller revolving around Hollywood's most notorious unresolved murder. "The Black Dahlia" was a huge disappointment for me. Not because it's a bad film (it is not), but because the tragic fate of Elizabeth Short is somewhat reduced to a mere footnote. It feels as if De Palma really wanted to make an old-fashioned and genuine film-noir. Inspired by - or jealous of? - the success of "L. A. Confidential", De Palma took a novel by James Ellroy that literally breathes the atmosphere of the 1940s. The story is chock-full of corrupt police officers, fancily dressed mobsters, femme fatales, sober voiceovers, and cigarette smoke. Seriously, you can develop throat and lung cancer just by looking at all these people smoking!
Coincidentally, the Black Dahlia murder occurred around this time and in this setting, but the script centers a lot more on the triangular relationship between two cops and a woman, the clandestine affaires of one of the cops, and the other's cop obsession with a Black Dahlia lookalike. The atmosphere of 1947 Hollywood is marvelously recreated, through minimal use of color and maximal emphasis on scenery & décor, but content-wise the film is sorely lackluster. The performances vary from excellent (Hillary Swank) to poor (Josh Hartnett) and everything in between. I love Scarlett Johansson and she looks stunning and sensual, but her role is quite meaningless. Mia Kirshner should have the most pivotal role, as Elizabeth "Black Dahlia" Short, but sadly she only appears in a couple of casting-video recordings.
Should you seek a really good (albeit not entirely factual, neither) movie on this subject, check out "Who is the Black Dahlia?" from 1975.
Given the title and the director's (previous) fame and reputation, I was obviously expecting a tense, absorbing, and insightful mystery/thriller revolving around Hollywood's most notorious unresolved murder. "The Black Dahlia" was a huge disappointment for me. Not because it's a bad film (it is not), but because the tragic fate of Elizabeth Short is somewhat reduced to a mere footnote. It feels as if De Palma really wanted to make an old-fashioned and genuine film-noir. Inspired by - or jealous of? - the success of "L. A. Confidential", De Palma took a novel by James Ellroy that literally breathes the atmosphere of the 1940s. The story is chock-full of corrupt police officers, fancily dressed mobsters, femme fatales, sober voiceovers, and cigarette smoke. Seriously, you can develop throat and lung cancer just by looking at all these people smoking!
Coincidentally, the Black Dahlia murder occurred around this time and in this setting, but the script centers a lot more on the triangular relationship between two cops and a woman, the clandestine affaires of one of the cops, and the other's cop obsession with a Black Dahlia lookalike. The atmosphere of 1947 Hollywood is marvelously recreated, through minimal use of color and maximal emphasis on scenery & décor, but content-wise the film is sorely lackluster. The performances vary from excellent (Hillary Swank) to poor (Josh Hartnett) and everything in between. I love Scarlett Johansson and she looks stunning and sensual, but her role is quite meaningless. Mia Kirshner should have the most pivotal role, as Elizabeth "Black Dahlia" Short, but sadly she only appears in a couple of casting-video recordings.
Should you seek a really good (albeit not entirely factual, neither) movie on this subject, check out "Who is the Black Dahlia?" from 1975.