Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2012 12:35:18 GMT -5
Angels with Dirty Faces
The Black Dahlia
(2006 / directed by Brian De Palma)
★★½
The Black Dahlia
(2006 / directed by Brian De Palma)
★★½
In the life of every single person who loves movies, writes about them, and has ever said anything even remotely cynical at one point or another... you will look like an asshole. There is no avoiding it. Not sure yet whether that applies to what I have to say on this film but the moment of your patronable clickage is still young. I mean, I know a lot of people are divided on movies, but I guess I tend to be more cynical than most. I'm not kidding. I will reject almost all drama out of context (because I don't care about things like religious symbolism, performances so understated that it feels like you're being worked over by a really novice hypnotist, costume schmaltz in general, and of course- the Events of Great Historical Significance genre; ya know- war and shit), I consider the huge artistic clout the (probably very well-read and certainly well-respected) Farrelly Brothers have amassed over the years to be downright scalp-pickingly confusing, and... you've seen what I think about survival horror. So, now that the murder mystery genre has been forever tainted by Brian De Palma's kinda anti-L.A. Confidential take on classic Hollywood, as well as a rebellion on everything one could even mistake for being solemn or serious in terms of subject matter... just call me Mr. Buzzkill. Because what I sat through last night feels like such an in-joke that you'd have to have seen every classic Hollywood film, or perhaps every crime film, in the vein hopes that this would explain the frequently unexplainable choice of shots (Patrick Fischler getting VERY UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE to Josh Hartnett only to command him to: "get out of my sight!" is one of them), which then might allow you to appreciate the film for what it's trying to be. Because, if what's on the surface here is really all there is to it... then this is now some stupid wannabe-David Lynch wankfest. Yikes. (Though to be fair, De Palma's done weird shit before: Raising Cain.)
Don't get me wrong. I love in-joke movies, movies about their genre, and movies that love other movies like it (there once were a group of very talented filmmakers who used to do this well, they made the Airplane! and Naked Gun films). But, this reeks of purposefully-obscure filmmaking (rather than personal filmmaking). Even if there are a few references I actually get (well... just Bettie Page, and just because I've seen her likeness in other people's films - Allison Anders - doesn't mean I know shit about her), what this feels like is an attempt to class up what Tarantino already did expertly over a decade prior (or John Landis, 2 decades). Why even bother doing it again, but to wax nostalgic? And even then, the cast are giving pretty modern performances. Scarlett Johansson's voice, Aaron Eckhart's ticky rabbit-in-a-cage overenthusiasm, and... Rose McGowan (all that need be said) especially really clash with the movie's classic vibe. As does, through no fault of his own, Josh Hartnett's ultra-youthful looks. I'm pretty sure he'd have been laughed out of any respectable (legitimate) old-timey detective station rather than been the 2nd most popular guy there. Only Hilary Swank really shines and feels like she belongs here. (Big surprise, right? That woman is a true chameleon.) Now... I know that a filmmaker has the right to distort truth, twist popular fiction, blur lines, make their own fantasty out of the material they're working on, etc. But this really doesn't feel like a movie made for an audience. I'm pretty sure everyone wanted something... else. This film is a romance that won't commit, a mindfuck with a headcold, a drama wearing a clown nose, and a crime film that brings a pillow to a gun fight. And... the dinner scene black comedy satire? Too little, too late. But, give it points for occasional style (especially the lesbian bar scenes), occasional hell-level hotness (Aaron Eckhart boxing- *boing-yoing-yoing*), and A+ performances by Swank, Mike Starr, and Fiona Shaw.
