Despite some amusing distractions, watching the big picture coalesce is not unlike watching someone complete a jigsaw puzzle. It all comes together eventually, but you already saw the image on the box.
Comment
09/15/06
The Black Dahlia (2006)
34
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:179
Fresh:61
Rotten:118
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: Though this ambitious noir crime-drama captures the atmosphere of its era, it suffers from subpar performances, a convoluted story, and the inevitable comparisons to other, more successful films of its genre.
Theatrical Release:15-09-2006
Synopsis: Based on the novel by James Ellroy, Brian De Palma's THE BLACK DAHLIA stars Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart as a pair of LAPD detectives assigned to the most notorious murder in Hollywood history.... [More]
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart
Director: Brian De Palma
Reviews for The Black Dahlia
101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticEven though Hollywood is known for fakes and forgeries, from fake breasts to fake Rolexes and fake blood, you would think it would still know how to make a movie about itself.
09/15/06
What on paper seems to be the perfect marriage of maker and material turns out to be a bust in its finished form, a stagnant movie that revisits the ghosts of Los Angeles noir past without adding much to the canon.
09/15/06
Almost nothing works in this incoherent and uncompelling movie.
09/15/06
It's a wonderfully shot film that demands its actors show old-movie-star mettle.
09/15/06
Dahlia seethes with atmosphere, and Hollywood's underbelly is always worth an ogle.
09/15/06
No wonder The Black Dahlia has the suffocated tint of a face starved for oxygen -- this isn't film noir, it's film bleu.
09/15/06
In the end, stylish Dahlia gets bludgeoned with De Palma melodrama.
09/15/06
If you like any of the lead actors, don't go see this movie. If you like good movies, don't go see this movie. If you're a steady customer at Helga's House of Pain, this one's for you.
09/15/06
It's easier to navigate the highway system of modern L.A. than keep track of the ever-shifting tone and direction of The Black Dahlia, and the cast appears at least as perplexed as we are.
09/15/06
Dahlia feels like two completely different movies accidentally smooshed together. It doesn't work, though it does become more entertaining as it gets more ludicrous and convoluted.
09/15/06
This fictionalized tale of two Los Angeles detectives assigned to the gruesome 1940s murder of a real-life wannabe starlet begins as a slow but intriguing character study that gradually unravels into a turgid mess.
09/15/06
The zoot suits and fedoras look great, but without a script or hard-eyed private detective in sight, it's merely a production designer's exercise.
09/15/06
Such a heinous crime would seem ideal for the man who gave us Scarface, but Mr. De Palma uses the murder as a springboard for pretentious social commentary and garish exercises in camp.
09/15/06
De Palma doesn't seem to know what to do with these actors.
09/15/06
Such a shame that The Black Dahlia collapses into a gruesome pile of steaming camp in the last half hour.
09/15/06
Top CriticDirector Brian De Palma will probably take the rap for this tepid noir, but the real culprits are Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson, red-hot lovers in life but (as ever) gorgeous stiffs on-screen.
09/15/06
De Palma has the perfect recipe for a madcap rollercoaster ride that never allows the viewer time to sit still and take stock.
09/15/06
Since The Black Dahlia more or less tells the story of an actress, a heinously murdered one at that, it makes sense that the first thing you notice about this so-so adaptation of James Ellroy's novel is the shoddy acting.
09/15/06
... there are some mysteries no one can solve. Including, apparently, the one that involves bringing The Black Dahlia satisfyingly to the screen.
09/15/06
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