The Black Dahlia
It’s all in the adaptation, folks. In 1997, director Curtis Hanson scored a classic with his adaptation (with co-screenwriter Brian Helgeland; the duo won an Oscar) of James Ellroy’s “L.A. Confidential,” one of the author’s “L.A. Quartet.” “Dahlia” is the first of the quartet, inspired by the notorious- and notoriously unsolved- murder of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short in 1947. Some of the character names you’ll recognize from “Confidential” (Ellroy’s characters in “Dahlia” are mostly fictional), establishing a continuity with that story astute viewers will notice, but might be lost on others. Doesn’t matter- it’s just kind of neat to realize about “Dahlia,” directed by one of the most polarizing directors of the ’70s American New Wave, Brian De Palma, known for flicks both great (“The Untouchables,” “Carrie,” “Mission: Impossible”), grating (“Snake Eyes,” “Body Double”), and a little bit of both (“Scarface,” “Femme Fatale”).
The script does De Palma no favors. Adapted by Josh Freidman (credited with work on Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” last year), “Dahlia” lacks “Confidential’s” verbal and narrative punch, moving at a pace more fever-induced than feverish (even with so many quiet moments, “Confidential” moved). De Palma does deliver the goods in terms of mood, though, with award-worthy production design by Dante Ferretti (“Gangs of New York”), cinematography by venerable veteran Vilmos Zsigmond (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind”), and music by composer Mark Isham (kind of hit-and-miss of late; he hits big time here) that makes “Dahlia” one of the most stylishly created films in recent memory. Even in lackluster films, you can always count on De Palma for that (OK, almost always; I forgot about 2000’s “Mission to Mars”).
At the heart of “Dahlia” is a bond between two boxers-turned-cops in L.A. named Dwight “Bucky” Bliechert (Josh Hartnett, who looks right for the part, but lacks the acting chops to be dramatically convincing; “Angel” and “Bones” star David Boreanaz would’ve been a better choice) and Leland “Lee” Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart, complimenting his earlier triumph in “Thank You For Smoking” with a fine dramatic turn), who begins to obsess about the Dahlia murder and finally unhinges, ruining the friendly closeness he had with Bucky and destroying his relationship with Kay Lake, a former gangster’s girl with the right look courtesy Scarlett Johansson; unfortunately, like Hartnett, she struggles to give the character much of a personality that doesn’t seem just acted out by the numbers. Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank fares much better in the juicy role of femme fatale Madeleine Linscott, a rich girl with a sordid history with victim Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner, who scores in a haunting audition reel that gives tragic life and personality to Short), who happens to look like her.
So, is the case of the Dahlia solved in the end? In real life, it remains one of Hollywood’s grimmest mysteries, and though Ellroy- in his fictionalized narrative- ties up the loose ends for his hero, leave it to the rich and powerful in the City of Angels to keep the truth under wraps from the general public. Don’t be surprised if you feel the same about De Palma’s lushly produced, but ultimately false-ringing, thriller.
