The Black Dahlia (2006)
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Josh Harnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson
Synopsis:
Two boxers turned policemen are put on the Black Dahlia case, but as one becomes increasingly obsessed, it threatens not only his career but their friendship as well.
Impressions:
I feel a bit torn on this. When I was done watching this film, I concluded it was a bad experience and would just as soon have not seen it. That being said, there were elements I liked and they should get their fair shake. I suppose it's appropriate given the subject matter, but the film feels rather trashy. It sticks to you like you've spent a couple hours crawling through a garbage dump. I mean, you don't want to whitewash the seedy underbelly of LA, but, man, is it ever an unpleasant experience. I did however find the dynamics of the triangle formed by Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart and Scarlett Johansson to be interesting. Actually, that might have been the only thing that really intrigued me. The look is fairly authentic, but the dialog slips in places. If you like neo-noir, you may like what you get, but I can't give it more of a recommendation than that.
50/50