Susan Granger’s review of “The Black Dahlia” (Universal Pictures)
Back in 1947, reports of the notorious murder of Elizabeth “Betty” Short riveted the nation – and her case remains one of the most gruesome, unsolved murders in the crime history of Los Angeles.
These are the facts: in a vacant lot, the LAPD discovered the nude, mutilated remains of a young wannabe actress, cut in half at the waist and disemboweled – with her mouth from slit ear to ear in a sickening, clownish grin.
Using this horrific homicide as background, novelist James Ellroy (“L.A. Confidential”) concocted a tale about two detectives whose lives became interwoven through their intense investigation. Screenwriter Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”) and director Brian DePalma (“The Untouchables,” “Scarface”) take the crime, sleaze and corruption several steps further, creating so many spooky, misogynistic subplots that the sordid film noir becomes ludicrous.
Leland “Lee” Blanchard (Aaron Eckart) and his younger partner, Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) are former boxers, known as “Fire” and “Ice.” Lee’s girl-friend is voluptuous Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson), a dame with a dubious past who displays an erotic interest in Bucky. Meanwhile, there’s this spoiled, lesbian-leaning socialite, Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), who, supposedly, bears a remarkable resemblance to the murdered Betty Short (Mia Kirshner).
Problem is: Swank doesn’t look at all like Kirshner – which makes the motive murky as the plot threads get tangled in a web of confusion. (Wanna find look-alikes? Recall how Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley were truly indistinguishable in “Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace”).
Plus, the entire cast chews the scenery, their tawdry, melodramatic antics often evoking unintentional amusement. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Black Dahlia” is a foul, florid 4. “Nothing stays buried forever,” we’re told. But this should. It wilts under scrutiny.
