The Black Dahlia
James Ellroy’s fascination with the machinations of the moneyed elite, and the brutality and corruption of law enforcement agencies are common themes in his books. The Oscar winning L.A. Confidential is a perfect example of these themes in action, with Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce prepared to stop at nothing to get their man, himself a corrupt police official.
The latest adaptation of a semi-factual James Ellroy novel is The Black Dahlia. The story of a brutally murdered Hollywoodland wannabe, Elizabeth Short, in 1947 is one of Tinseltown’s most notorious unsolved crimes.
With Brian De Palma at the helm (Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way) expectations run high. The cast is, with one caveat, solid with some especially convincing firm-jawed brooding from both the principal characters, Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Leland “Lee” Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) both boxers-cum-cops who head up the investigation. Eckhart’s descent into obsession is well-handled, and Hartnett is an impossibly likable good guy.
Scarlett Johansson slinks her way through some tight dialogue as a slightly misplaced femme fatale in the role of Blanchard’s girl Kay Lake, and Hilary Swank, the actual black widow of the piece, struggles with an accent of dubious origins.
The direction, as you would expect from De Palma, is slick and stylish. However, The Black Dahlia lacks the edgy pace of Chinatown or the wit of Brick for it to become a contemporary noir classic.
The story focuses on the politicized lives of the two heroic police officers, and the love quadrangle that forms with Johansson and Swank posing in the opposite corners. Here, high expectations clash with Ellroy’s written work. This film is not about Elizabeth Short. Only a third of the narrative is dedicated to her case, and her death is little more than a backdrop to the subjects that Ellroy is really interested in – politics and corruption.
There is a fascinating study here, but it is dealt with so much more effectively in L.A. Confidential and this leaves Elizabeth a little short changed. This isn’t a noir detective story like The Big Sleep; it’s a study of human behavior under extreme stress and pressure. This may cause disappointment if you like a good thriller that doesn’t stray too far from the central plot.
The coup de gras however is not so much a question of poor casting as characterization. There is a grotesque error of judgment made in the playing of a scene so key, that to reveal it would be like printing the entire script right here for all to see. This momentary lapse drags the movie down to the level of a farce. It’s “Carry-On Noir”, but it isn’t funny.
The Black Dahlia is an accomplished piece of work by an experienced director, that is let down by not allowing the story of Elizabeth Short to be properly told, by a lack of pace, and one of the most bizarre character depictions ever to grace a cinema screen.
© 2006 Phillip Piggott. All rights reserved.
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