Once upon a time, the prospect of a new film from Brian De Palma was considered something to look forward to along the lines of a new film from his Film School Generation contemporaries, Scorsese, Spielberg, and Lucas. But as the cinematically brazen 1970s gave way to the blockbuster-driven 1980s, De Palma’s refusal to adapt to the changed climate cost him quite a bit in terms of marquee value. When his colleagues were giving us “”E.T.” and “Return of the Jedi”, he was dishing up extremely controversial work such as “Dressed to Kill”, “Scarface”, and “Body Double”. Not always artistically successful, but always provocative both visually and psychologically, these divisive films had a major part in determining De Palma’s bumpy commercial future. Ultimately, he was able to pull out the occasional popular sensation like “The Untouchables” and “Mission: Impossible”, but for every one of those, there would be a “Mission to Mars” or “The Bonfire of the Vanities”. When adding his spate of occasional lower-budgeted auteur work like “Femme Fatale” and “Raising Cain” to the mix – films as darkly complex and carefully crafted as anything from his “Carrie” heyday - it becomes clear that Brian De Palma remains a very intriguing filmmaker on the cinematic landscape, and not only due to the what-will-he-do-next factor. His latest, the true-crime murder noir “The Black Dahlia” could potentially land in any number of the above listed camps – provocative, blockbuster, or personal.
Before I go into the film itself, let’s continue on the surface for just a moment longer, considering the first impressions put forth prior to seeing the film. Shot (in part) in the low-budget film hell that is Bulgaria, the absorbing façade of a late 1940s L.A. that is presented becomes all the more impressive. All the mid-century tinsel town glamour and seediness, romanticized so often in the work of “Dahlia” author James Ellroy and others, becomes a glistening reality here. Thank brilliant production designer Dante Ferretti and ace cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond for that. But the fact that De Palma, at this strange point in his career, can still muster up top-tier help like that certainly means something. He may’ve been relegated to “the director of ‘Scarface’”, but he’s still able to put together a crew worthy of Scorsese and company.
The cast list, at first glance, is considerably more of a mixed bag. Josh Hartnett has never been able to shoulder the load of a leading man, and although he almost pulls it off here, playing the dumb lug good cop on the murder case, a number of key scenes reveal that he is in a just little bit over his head. Aaron Eckhart, playing the key-supporting role of Hartnett’s partner, is, despite his proven talent in other films, a box office red flag. For an actor as skilled as he clearly is, the list of duds he’s appeared in is staggering. Will this be another? Thanks to his odd, ham-fisted portrayal, it’s hard to say he’s helping matters this time around. The female cast members, on the other hand, aren’t nearly such a risky movie-going proposition. Scarlett Johansson’s name on a one-sheet always signals promise, as does Hilary Swank’s, whose presence is all the more intriguing by the prospect of her playing a lusty femme fatale vamp. Both women swim circles around their male counterparts, and both are well worth the cost of admission, even if they are each a bit under-utilized.
The real draw/repulsion factor for “The Black Dahlia”, however, lies in its literary roots as a work of much-respected author James Ellroy. Many (myself not included) have read the novel, which is based on a true story, and they carry strong opinions about what a movie version ought to be, and whether or not De Palma should be the guy to direct. Based purely on having seen a few interviews with the manic and outspoken Ellroy, his nihilistic worldview and warped sense of humor would blend awfully well with the director’s established sensibilities. And, as it turns out, they pretty much do. Ellroy and De Palma isn’t a bad match at all – if anything, they are too alike for the film’s own good. The gentler spirited Curtis Hanson had much greater success with Ellroy’s “L.A. Confidential” than De Palma does here. We seem to have a case of the instructor understanding the complex material so well, he cannot effectively communicate it to his students.
“The Black Dahlia” is indeed bogged down with too many names and characters doing too many things, chasing too many possible plot threads and thematic elements to ever truly gel. Some of this blame can be heaped on screenwriter Josh Friedman, but the ultimate blame must fall on the director, and concise storytelling has never been De Palma’s strong point. Give him half a chance to amble off on a tangent involving his pet themes of voyeurism, masochism, and the state of America, and he’ll drop the narrative thread in a New York minute. And yes, all these themes are present, woven into the fabric of everything else going on around them with relative success. (The fascination here depends upon how much of a De Palma aficionado one is.)
De Palma’s strong points are also in evidence, as he does stage at least one extremely memorable Argento-esque set piece, right down to the dialogue-free surreal slow motion effect that he’s come to be known for. As camera-happy as ever, the director gleefully indulges in all manner of unique visuals, including prolonged point of view shots, long tracking shots, and impossible deep focus that Orson Welles and Gregg Toland pioneered. All of it serves to make this torrid tale of a murdered would-be starlet all the more poignant and compelling, even when the story is a little off the rails or the actors seem slightly lost. The confluence of bold, unapologetically visceral images interwoven within the thematic context of the story is the mark of Brian De Palma, and he does deliver on that front this time around.
On the whole, “The Black Dahlia” suffers from a remote and non-engaging first half. The mutilated corpse of the young girl is discovered, and the two cops played by Hartnett and Eckhart are off and running, but the details that we need to be absorbing zip by, and the whirlwind of suspects we never really get to know is suited more for the printed page than the silver screen. It all starts to come together in the second half, slowly but surely, but by this point it’s too little, too late for most audience members. “The Black Dahlia” doesn’t merely demand your full attention, it demands multiple viewings. The question is whether it deserves them.
Of course, after saying all of this, I must note that the film’s biggest obstacle most likely comes not from within, but in the form of the EXTREMELY similar looking “Hollywoodland”, beating “Dahlia” into theaters by one week in the U.S. Not having seen “Hollywoodland”, I can’t compare the two, but if film-going justice proves to be more fair than the muddled justice presented in these two tales of unsolved mid-century tinsel town death and corruption, both can simultaneously survive, happily ever after.
- Jim Tudor