Radio Lady Reviews: "The Black Dahlia" (Opens Friday, Sept. 15)

[Radio_Lady]

This must be the month for Hollywood nostalgia. In a little more than a week, I attended a preview of "Hollywoodland", which I have reviewed separately and, this week, I went to a showing of “The Black Dahlia.” The latter sports a wonderful cast, great set work, and cinematography. The film is directed by Brian De Palma who should be credited for the excellent performances he drew from his players.

Hmmm…with all that said, I have to add that this Black Dahlia didn’t bloom for me and that may put me out of step with many who will love it. However, if you choose to see “The Black Dahlia” and find the story more than a little intricate and difficult to follow, you are with me in what I experienced. I also found the final revelations at the end of this murder mystery also disappointing in that so many of the characters turn out to be so flawed and distasteful. The best of them and most heroic is Officer Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert, Josh Hartnett, who, in the end, is guilty of behavior that will have you even wondering about him.

Perhaps this review just whets your appetite to see “The Black Dahlia” anyway…out of curiosity to see what I'm talking about. That’s OK. Here’s the cast rundown:

Josh Hartnett stars as Bucky. Aaron Eckhart is Bucky’s police partner, Leland “Lee” Blanchard. Scarlett Johansson is Lee’s love interest Kay Lake. Hilary Swank plays Madeleine Linscott who is somehow involved with the murder Bucky and Lee are trying to solve. They are all top drawer in their roles as are the many supporting characters.

The recreation of 40’s Hollywood is great (even though is was filmed in Bulgaria, as well as Los Angeles!). I liked De Palma’s finely crafted characters. But I let the cat out of the bag earlier about not really liking the film as much as I wanted to. Hey, I loved Hollywoodland! Maybe this was just too much tinsel town for me. I’ll give it a "C" on Ellen's Entertainment Report Card for the performances and production values.

http://www.theblackdahliamovie.net/