Film: The Black Dahlia
Genre: Drama/Crime
Release Date: September 15th, 2006
Distributor: Universal
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hrs. 59 min.
Review by Dack, and Thecoojo

Starring:
Josh Hartnett
Scarlett Johansson
Aaron Eckhart
Hilary Swank

Dack's Take;

Although it was not 100% what I was hoping for, The Black Dahlia entertains, while telling an amazing Film Noir tale.

The Black Dahlia is loosely based on a true story. And when I say loosely based, I'm being nice. Besides the actual Black Dahlia murder, not much in this movie is true to the true tragic events of a young actor, Elizabeth Short, who got Brutally murdered. The killer that commited such a foul act, was never caught.

The Black Dahlia stars Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart as Police Detective partners, Bucky and Lee. They get assigned to investigate the murder of elizabeth short, which leads to paranoia, suspesion, and more murders. Most of the movie is about Bucky and Lee's lifes, as they investigate crimes, and go out on the town with Eckhart's wife, Kay, played by the ever-beautiful, Scarlett Johansson. Bucky and Kay soon develop a love for a secret love for each other, while Lee becomes obsessed and mad over the Black Dahlia case.

I was let down by The Black Dahlia slightly. It had a great cast, a great director (Brian DePalma, who also directed the cult classic, The Untouchables...oh and scarface.) and it was about a great story, but it had some problems. One, the movie seemed about 3 hours long, even though it was just shy of 2 hours. I don't think it seemed longer because it was boring, I think it seemed longer because it wasted too much time on Lee and Bucky, when it should have been spending at leasy 70% of the time on the Black Dahlia case, which is what the movie was about. It should have been about 2 and a half hours, and gone into more detail about Elizabeth Short, but it didn't, which caused it to get extremely confusing most of the time, with the excessive amount of unimportant character mentioning. However, the movie had some amazing acting, from Hartnett, Johansson, and Eckhart, and it was oozing with Film Noir. It had a great 1940ish movie score, that really brought you into the era, along with some really cool cinematography.

Overall, The Black Dahlia was a unique movie and a rare experience, with a few major flaws keeping it from being an oscar calibur drama.

Dack's Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thecoojo's Take;

I went to see the Black Dahlia on Friday with Dack. I was expecting the movie to be pretty good. Was I justified in my thoughts? Umm…that would be a huge YES. The Black Dahlia is a great movie for those who like action and those who like a crazy intricate plot.

Ok, lest start with the simpler of the two. How was the action? The action was great, there were gun fights, boxing matches, murders, and intimate contact ;). The boxing match was beautifully simple but well put together and quite believable and the gun fight was very true to what would have happened during that era. The murder and the more bloody portions of the actions were no holds barred gory. Like, I mean, you would expect some blood since this is a movie about a gruesome murder, but this stud is equivalent to that of the SAW series, except worse because this stuff is even more believable.

Ok, now lets get to the story, for those of you who don’t know is about one of the most horrible and still unsolved murders in California history. The story follows two cops, one, Sgt. Leland "Lee" Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart), who is a veteran cop trying to make his career out of this case, and maybe for another motive too. Will I tell you, nope, you have to see to find out. The other cop, Officer. Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) is semi new to the force and had just transferred to the station and while being semi concerned about the case is more concerned with his partners growing obsession with it. The story goes on until something tragic happens and Bucky must take over the reins of the case that near drove his partner to insanity. As Bucky digs further into this murder he uncovers so many dark secret until a dramatic ending that no one could predict. The description that I just gave you is probably one of the most simplified versions you will ever hear. And this is the reason why I am giving it 4 instead of 5 stars. The story is VERY complicated, to the point of being extremely confusing. So, even though I was able to follow along for the most part, there were certain scenes in the movie where I found myself questioning what exactly was happening or just happened.

So there you go folks, one prefect Black Dahlia review. I would definitely suggest going to see it unless you are a young child or don’t have a very big brain capacity. It’s a perfect movie for people who enjoy a good mystery and want to sink their teeth into a brand new plot. And for those of you that meet none of those qualifications, go see it cause Scarlett Johansson is INCREDIBLY HOT.

Thecoojo's Rating: 4/5 Stars

Final Rating: 4/5 Stars