comment #1

zoey says ...

The Black Dahlia was a complete misfire. Awful on all counts.

comment #2

austin111 says ...

Caught this last night finally. Not entirely bad and I was actually able to follow it through on most counts, but, yeah, DePalma's ambitions as a filmmaker too often get in the way of what should be the ultimate goal of any director -- telling the story. Mia Kirshner was the film's high point for me -- great performance as the dahlia. The other actors ranged from underused to poorly directed (Swank) to surprisingly alright (Hartnett). I don't regret seeing it and I suppose there's still a slight chance that down the road it'll get more love.

comment #3

caslab says ...

I think that should read:

"Like Hitchcock, to whom he has often compared himself"

comment #4

Dixon Steele says ...

Just came back from seeing DAHLIA and have to agree with Austin.

The first hour or so isn't bad at all,enjoyable in a B-movie way. But after that it goes off the rails, which may be due to the complex story just not working on screen. Makes you appreciate L.A. Confidential, True Confessions & Chinatown even more. Bulgaria a very good stand in for L.A.

And yes, Hartnett was surprisingly good and Swank surprisingly not. Mia K. best of all.

Not a total loss for me, but can't really recommend either.

comment #5

TKC says ...

Just saw it, and I've gotta say -- the first hour and a half or so are exceedingly slow (to me, though I've read the book, which always makes exposition scenes go doubly slow) -- but in the home stretch, when Fiona Shaw suddenly starts chewing the scenery, her fellow actors, and the camera itself, the movie ascends/descends into truly inspired lunacy. Everyone in this movie thinks they're in a different film -- Hartnett's in a hard-boiled noir, Johanssen's in a romance, Eckhart's the devious spouse in a b-level Ashley Judd thriller, Kirschner's in a tragedy, Swank is in "The Hudsucker Proxy" -- but out of all the movies the actors have chosen for themselves, the one I'd most like to see in its entirety is Shaw's Grand Guignol version of "Gosford Park".

comment #6

Craptastic says ...

Big DePalma fan... "The Black Dahlia"-- not so good. De Palma movies are known for their good "parts". Like the classic film theory goes... a good film has THREE good scenes (along with a girl and a gun). De Palma subscribes to this in almost every film he's done. I was so frustrated during this film because every time I thought the massive, expertly staged slow-mo scene was about to hit it-- phhhttt. Blue balls.

I went home and watched The Fury and Raising Caine back to back. Fucking beat Johnny C. blowing up in The Fury or Kirky running out of the cab with the gun... Pure-fucking-cinema.

comment #7

bachelorcool says ...

Is it true this was originally a three hour cut mangled down to two for theatrical?

comment #8

Chad says ...

You left off the important part of the quote...

"A good film has THREE good scenes...

"...AND NO BAD ONES."

That's where DePalma repeatedly fails.

comment #9

Arthur101 says ...

Isnt first the acting the letdown - at least on some level - in black dahlia? I think that has to do with the kind of actor DePalma fares better with: think "Melanie Griffith" - or even Travolta! BACK THEN. It had to be more of a great B (potential Alist) actor. That allowed the film to be the star, not the person, and let the director utilze everything to tell the story.

The use of deaths seems to be just part of his lexicon of cinematic constructions. Signs. If B_Dahlia offers him that chance to capture something that relates to his understanding of cinema and our fascination with watching it, so be it. But..his aesthetic also means the whole recipe has to be there for it to work: the casting of actor-types, the inter-narratives of the script, his knowledge of what is good/bad scenes, etc..

I just don't think he really gets the offers today. The Black Dahlia feels too late as a current sensibility even. Its trying to make him what he isnt - a director of the "new" Hollywood stars. Plus the story has been rehashed and discussed for already so many years, I can't believe its being done now, it isnt really fitting to the sense of a contemporary, THAT was already a hint to how wrong the recipe is for DePalma.

I just had the chance to watch "body double" again on tv, and it still registers something uncanny to it - weirdness - that I recall as a freshness it brought into mainstream cinema then, and what are now conventions - like including a music video in the middle (Frankie Goes to Hollywood!) and the ending credits sequence... DePalma would deliver that without really having "stars" per say.
So I think that cast is a problematic issue with "Dahlia" as well.

comment #10

Cadavra says ...

Reminds me of a terrific Dennis Miller joke (back when he was still funny): "Today the U.S. Postal Service released a 32c stamp picturing Alfred Hitchcock. They also released a cheaper stamp with Brian DePalma."