The Black Dahlia (15)

This film is based on James Ellroy's crime thriller of that name, which is itself a fictionalisation of a gruesome murder case which happened in Hollywood in the forties. The victim was Elizabeth "Betty" Short, a 22 year old would-be actress, whose grotesquely mutilated body was found in Los Angeles on January 15th 1947. The crime was never solved.

The central characters of Ellroy's story and De Palma's film are two cops, the tough and worldly Lee (Eckhart) and the much younger and less experienced Bucky (Hartnett). Both ex boxers, they become friends, when pitted against each other in the ring as a publicity stunt for the crime force. When Betty's body is found, they are assigned to the investigation. Lee in particular, who has a lurid past involving his girlfriend Kay (Johansson), becomes obsessed by the case. Also involved is Madeleine Linscott (Swank), daughter of a rich businessman, who has an involvement with the dead girl and to whom Bucky is strongly attracted. The story is set against the colourful world of forties Hollywood, its corrupt politicians, dirty cops, ruthless gangsters and seedy filmmakers.

It is perfect material for a De Palma film noir in colour. Stylistically it is brilliant in its use of said colour, recreation of the period and often breathtakingly elegant settings. It is worth spending the two hours just for the look of it. The costumes particularly the women’s are gorgeous. Johansson as Kay looks the perfect fashion plate leading lady for the period, initially with a passive, doll like sexuality which is very of the time, though she later also becomes interesting and touching in her child like vulnerability. Swank makes a strong and contrasting femme fatale, a manipulative chameleon changing moods and personalities. Eckhart is particularly charismatic while Hartnett makes an interesting straight foil. The character establishment of Lee, Bucky and Kate and their three way relationship is done in a leisurely but interesting manner. Bucky also delivers the voice over narration in Ellroy style. There are also some stunning De Palma set pieces, most notably a totally gripping fight on a staircase, which is reminiscent in some ways of the famous sequence in The Untouchables, albeit totally different in content and purpose. Betty (Mia Kirshner), the Black Dahlia of the title, so called because of her love of wearing black clothing and a flower in her hair, is seen in black and white in the film tests she has done and in a lesbian porn film, which is germane to the investigation.

There are also some interestingly decadent scenes in Laverne's, a lesbian club, where Betty was wont to hang out, featuring artist k.d. lang singing "Love For Sale", sequences which although very much of the period, could never have been included in a film noir of that time. The nature of the story necessitates a fair measure of sometimes startling violence but appropriately used, one particularly powerful image being when the camera focuses on Bucky's tooth, knocked out during the boxing match. Fiona Shaw contributes what at first appears to be a somewhat over the top contribution as Madeleine's alcoholic and somewhat mad mother, though all becomes clearer later. The screenplay by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) is well written and literate but there is a lot of explanatory dialogue and narration, which is sometimes a bit tricky to hear and because of this some of the details of the complex plot are difficult to follow. However, it is visually so strong and emotionally engaging that missing the odd detail doesn’t spoil it.

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