![\"blackdahlia\"](\"https:\/\/maggipicayune.net\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/blackdahlia.jpg\" "\\"blackdahlia\\"")
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This movie wasn\u2019t going to make anyone happy for two immediate reasons: James Ellroy\u2019s novels are practically impossible to translate to film; and practically all film critics have a chip on their shoulder with Brian De Palma from the reviews I\u2019ve read over the years. At least the ending credits quickly explain to the audience that the infamous murder really happened but it has never been solved. If you\u2019ve followed James Ellroy\u2019s books, you already knew. My immediate opinion? This movie could\u2019ve been much worse given the difficulty of the source material and the director\u2019s reputation. Hence the designation in the headline. On to the crux of this review.<\/p>\n
Josh Hartnett is Officer Dwight \u201cBucky\u201d Bleichert, a relatively good cop (by LA and Ellroy standards), who gets sucked into the cesspool of crime, compromises of conscience and corruption thanks to Sgt. Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart, one of the best actors to play a dirty cop). The movie sets the tone quickly with a flashback of their first meeting during the Zoot Suit Riots after WWII in which the LAPD doesn\u2019t quell the the fighting; the took bets on the outcome with the military\u2019s MPs. Anyway, Lee befriends Bucky, convinces him to participate in a publicity stunt that gets public opinion to vote favorably on a bond for the LAPD. In return, the District Attorney\u2019s office (run by Ellis Loew from\u00a0LA Confidential<\/em>)\u00a0rewards the duo by promoting them to the Warrants division and they\u2019re made partners. Bucky can tell Lee isn\u2019t on the level: he lives in a very nice house for a sargeant\u2019s pay, he put his \u201cgirlfriend\u201d Kay (Scarlett Johansson in a rather flat performance) through college and he\u2019s friends with associates of Mickey Cohen (LA\u2019s head of Organized Crime). No serious offenses are being committed so Bucky doesn\u2019t let it worry him, besides, he feels obligated to Lee for all he has gained as 1946 becomes 1947.<\/p>\n Other than the love triangle forming between Kay, Bucky and Lee, life is pretty sweet until the brutal murder of Elizabeth Short, aka The Black Dahlia (the name given by the papers since she resembled the actress in\u00a0Blue Dahlia<\/em>). The two cops are moved from Warrants to Homicide due to Lee\u2019s clout with the DA. Why? The corpse was found near another crime they were investigating and secondly, Lee never misses an opportunity to raise his prestige in the LAPD. From there on, everybody\u2019s world slowly unravels as Bucky\u2019s investigation reveals how Short\u2019s murder is only a fraction of a larger conspiracy.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re expecting a repeat of\u00a0LA Confidential<\/em>, you\u2019ll be disappointed. This movie is shown from the perspective of Bucky, not through the shifting of the three main characters like Ellroy\u2019s novels. But I\u2019ve never read this book so I don\u2019t know how Ellroy wrote it. The revelations of who killed Short, why she was killed and everything else Bucky resolves feel contrived and rushed too. This would have worked out better as a mini-series. Ellroy always has subplots going on with his characters that film can\u2019t capture well due to the time constraints. Otherwise, reading the original novel will probably capture the story and perspective better since Hollywood just can\u2019t recapture its original\u00a0film noir <\/em>period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This movie wasn\u2019t going to make anyone happy for two immediate reasons: James Ellroy\u2019s novels are practically impossible to translate to film; and practically all film critics have a chip on their shoulder with Brian De Palma from the reviews … Continue reading