Review of The Black Dahlia (2006) by Beth S — 22 Jun 2010

I know I'm not in the majority here, but it would be difficult to overstate my love for this film. It would be equally difficult to overstate my indignation at its negative reception. The Black Dahlia, based on the book by James Ellroy (author of LA Confidential) and directed by Brian DePalma (of Scarface), is everything neo-noir should be.

It exaggerates the traditional conventions while favoring gritty realism over style--except in the screenplay, which dances like a ballerina and pulses like a boxing match. Each lead gives a gripping performance--especially Hilary Swank, who achieves the only convincing Old Hollywood accident I have ever heard attempted by anyone born after 1950--and Aaron Eckhart, whose intensity drives the film as much as Hartnett's puppydog-eyed pathos.

(Will someone please explain to me why he only works for me in neo-noir? Sin City, for example). Haunting screen tests punctuate the film, in which Mia Kirshner, who plays the murdered Elizabeth Short, transcends the sexpot persona forced onto her by conveying the profound pathos of a woman who cannot realize her own dream.

Why we don't see more from Kirshner, I have no idea. She is captivating. I admit that the plot gets a bit wacky. Actually it gets a lot wacky. But that's the point. How do you tell the story of such a murder? How can we even begin to imagine it? Here's one attempt.