The Black Dahlia (2006)

Diretor:

Brian De Palma

Escritores (WGA):

Josh Friedman (screenplay)
James Ellroy (novel)

Data de Lançamento:

15 Setembro 2006 (USA)

Gênero:

Crime | Drama | Mistério | Suspense

Chamada:

Inspired by the most notorious unsolved murder in California history.

Argumento:

Two policemen see their personal and professional lives fall apart in the wake of the "Black Dahlia" murder investigation.

Plot Keywords:

Black Dahlia | Death | Murder | Corpse | Boxer

Prêmios:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Comentários dos utilizadores:

over-the-top mess

Elenco

Josh Hartnett	...	Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert
Scarlett Johansson	...	Kay Lake
Aaron Eckhart	...	Lee Blanchard
Hilary Swank	...	Madeleine Linscott
Mia Kirshner	...	Elizabeth Short
Mike Starr	...	Det. Russ Millard
Fiona Shaw	...	Ramona Linscott
Patrick Fischler	...	Deputy DA Ellis Loew
James Otis	...	Dolph Bleichert
John Kavanagh	...	Emmett Linscott
Troy Evans	...	Chief Ted Green
Anthony Russell	...	Morrie Friedman
Pepe Serna	...	Tomas Dos Santos
Angus MacInnes	...	Capt. John Tierney (as Angus MacInnis)
Rachel Miner	...	Martha Linscott

Conhecido como:

Black Dahlia (Germany)
Die schwarze Dahlie (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and language.

Duração:

121 min

País:

Alemanha | USA

Língua:

Inglês | Alemão

Cor:

Cor

Aspect Ratio:

2,35 : 1

Som:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certificação:

Australia:MA | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | UK:15 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Malaysia:18PL | Indonesia:Dewasa | Singapore:M18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Philippines:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 | Greece:K-13 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R (certificate #41496) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Brazil:16 | Spain:18 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Denmark:15

Locais de filmagem:

Alto-Nido Apartments -1851 N. Ivar Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Companhia :

Universal Pictures

Pegadinha:

Rose McGowan's character Sheryl Saddon appears to be inspired by a real person, one Sherryl Maylond, who had shared a room with Elizabeth Short and six other girls.

Goofs:

Erros factuais: The first part of the movie shows cars with 1945/46 California license plates (black and white with a white strip on top) mounted on the front of the car. For those two years only, to save metal due to World War II, California license plates were issued singly and mounted on the rear of the car only.

Citações:

[first lines]
Ofcr. Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert: [voiceover] Mr. Fire versus Mr. Ice. For everything people were making it out to be, you'd think it was our first fight. It wasn't. And it wouldn't be our last.

Filme Connections:

Referências Black Angel (1946)

Tilha Sonora:

Love for Sale

over-the-top mess

Anybody expecting to get a great account of the Black Dahlia case, even fictional, will be disappointed going in to this movie. Of course, I knew that it was a fictionalization of the case, but I had no idea the movie would present its own evidence and draw its own conclusions.

But the main problem here is not the lack of factual detail, so much as the confusion of plot that surrounds and overwhelms the Black Dahlia case itself. So much plot and character and sideplots and backstory are built around the central characters that the case itself seems like a distraction. A key plot point and character motivator is the fascination of the two detectives with the murder, but this is never elaborated enough in the film, and we're left to half-heartedly guess at the character motivations.

The tone is never consistently campy, but when the camp arrives it overwhelms the story. A dinner scene between a suspect and her family had the crowd in stitches (the only scene during which the audience laughed). The problem is that the scene is valuable to the plot and should never have been played for laughs. Hitchcock or even Lynch could have shot the same scene, with the same events and dialogue, and made it menacing and creepy, which it needed to be to function in the mystery.

Other problems: De Palma uses the lesbian angle of the movie (never a part of the case) to full exploitative advantage, and the actresses seem unable to master to the expressive 1940s style acting that would have come naturally to even a marginal 40s star.

Although the film brings a clearcut finale rather than a vague puzzle, too many loose threads come together too neatly and rather than bringing the film to a satisfactory conclusion, it leaves you scratching your head, is this what I spent the last 2 hours waiting to hear? Overall, there is too much plot, too little character development and a wildly uneven tone. The movie has its moments but it's a blinding mess all together.