2008 Woodie Awards
Black Dahlia's big stars fail to shine
Nicole Osuch
Issue date: 10/6/06 Section: A & E
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Since the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short on Sept. 15, 1947 nearly six decade ago, the unsolved case has been captured by James Ellroy's best selling novel and, now, on the big screen.
"The Black Dahlia" is an adaptation of James Ellroy's sensational tale of the murder of the attractive, aspiring actress, Elizabeth Short, a 22-year old in the Hollywood hills. The case has all the components of a successful Hollywood blockbuster: sex, love triangles, beauty, violence, mystery and political corruption. Except that Director Brian De Palma, whose extensive resume of past films includes "Carrie," "Blow Out," and "Dressed to Kill," miscast a few of the lead roles causing there to be a disconnect and did not execute the last scene well.
Detectives in the homicide department for the Los Angeles Police Department, Lee Blanchard and Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert played by Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett share a passion for boxing among other things. Their supervisor hands over the investigation of the brutal murder of Elizabeth Short. Short's body was found cut in half, drained of blood, with a cut from the side of her mouth to her ear on either side, scars on both her wrists and ankles which insinuates that she was tortured and placed nude in a vacant property in a Los Angeles town.
Blanchard and Bleichert uncover Short's sketchy past bringing special attention to Short's numerous boyfriends, random films, appearances in pornographic films and affair with Madeleine Linscott, played by Hilary Swank. Mia Kershiner captures the essence of Elizabeth Short with her dark black hair, blood red lips, fair skin and alluring blue eyes. The detectives become obsessed and consumed with the case so much that Blanchard's relationship with Kay Lake played by the stunning Scarlett Johansson begins to become more distant as she falls more often into the company of Bleichert. Bleichert gets tangled up in sexual encounters with Madeleine who eerily resembles the dead girl. Bleichert is introduced to Madeleine's wacky, yet famous Hollywood family, including her father and drunken mother whose face reveals an unshakable clue to the murder.
"The Black Dahlia" is an adaptation of James Ellroy's sensational tale of the murder of the attractive, aspiring actress, Elizabeth Short, a 22-year old in the Hollywood hills. The case has all the components of a successful Hollywood blockbuster: sex, love triangles, beauty, violence, mystery and political corruption. Except that Director Brian De Palma, whose extensive resume of past films includes "Carrie," "Blow Out," and "Dressed to Kill," miscast a few of the lead roles causing there to be a disconnect and did not execute the last scene well.
Detectives in the homicide department for the Los Angeles Police Department, Lee Blanchard and Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert played by Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett share a passion for boxing among other things. Their supervisor hands over the investigation of the brutal murder of Elizabeth Short. Short's body was found cut in half, drained of blood, with a cut from the side of her mouth to her ear on either side, scars on both her wrists and ankles which insinuates that she was tortured and placed nude in a vacant property in a Los Angeles town.
Blanchard and Bleichert uncover Short's sketchy past bringing special attention to Short's numerous boyfriends, random films, appearances in pornographic films and affair with Madeleine Linscott, played by Hilary Swank. Mia Kershiner captures the essence of Elizabeth Short with her dark black hair, blood red lips, fair skin and alluring blue eyes. The detectives become obsessed and consumed with the case so much that Blanchard's relationship with Kay Lake played by the stunning Scarlett Johansson begins to become more distant as she falls more often into the company of Bleichert. Bleichert gets tangled up in sexual encounters with Madeleine who eerily resembles the dead girl. Bleichert is introduced to Madeleine's wacky, yet famous Hollywood family, including her father and drunken mother whose face reveals an unshakable clue to the murder.
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