Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Has anybody seen "The Black Dahlia" yet?

I saw it today and was , well, a little disappointed. I had very high hopes. Of course I did not know that it would be mostly fictionalized from the book which came out some time ago-not Hodel's book, I forget the author.

It is extremely hard to follow, jumps all around with myriad characters popping up, and the focus is on a love triangle with the two main cop characters and Scarlet Johansson who stands around looking ill at ease in period clothing showing her very red, very puffed up lips. The Dahlia story seems more of an incidental than the focus of the film. The portrayal of poor Betty Short is very unflattering and not well-researched. It is beautifully filmed as only Brian DePalma can do, very graphic and very violent. It is not for the queasy or faint of heart.

For me there are far too many subplots, plot holes, and fictional people running around, and there is very little about Betty, with her sad demise being explained and briefly shown at the very end while we are treated to endless sexcapades of the buff hero and nittygritty police life back at the station. The gal who plays Aunt Petunia in Harry Potter films is there chewing up the scenery, and is thoroughly unbelievable in her over the top role, which I will not divulge for those who have not yet seen the movie. All the dangling loose ends are at long last gathered up in the denouement which seems forever in coming, and somehow all seems a bit hard to swallow. We all sat in the dark while the credits rolled scratching our heads- saying , huh? Uh... let me see if I got this right....

For true crime historians, this will be a let down. The sets, costuming and direction are slick, the stars are glam and sexy, but the Hodel version would have been better, and still better yet, more of the Truth and the real search by real people for the solution to the ghastly end of Betty Short.

Thanks for the rundown!

I guess about a year ago, our member Joe helped me collect news articles on The Black Dahlia. I must have 30 articles, if not more.

Here's a snippet. It's not the whole item, just a screen-sized shot.
Because it's your birthday, and the opening of the movie, both!

I was mezmerised by the purse and shoe photo above. Textiles have that effect on me you see!

I suppose what I wanted to see in this film was Betty's story- how did she grow up a sweet girl in Medford, Massachusetts and end up as she did? I wanted to see her story through her eyes, and maybe see how and why she descended into a seedier and seamier side of life. How did she manage to survive daily in the shark tank that was the Hollywood scene- who were her paramours, how was she exploited- how did she lose her innocence? And finally, who might have been the possibilities for the suspects. We get nothing of this in this film. A lot more of her life is known- we just never get to see it. What we do get saturated with are some fictional characters and their fictional stories- none of whom are particularly lovable-and quickly forgettable. I got more from this site http://www.bethshort.com/dahhome.htm

The Sunday newspaper did not give it a favorable review. First, it is a fictionalized account, based on a novel. If you like that author, you might like this film.
How many of those scenes were invented, not taken from the known record?

Shelley @ Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:37 pm wrote:I saw it today and was , well, a little disappointed. I had very high hopes. Of course I did not know that it would be mostly fictionalized from the book which came out some time ago-not Hodel's book, I forget the author.

It is extremely hard to follow, jumps all around with myriad characters popping up, and the focus is on a love triangle with the two main cop characters and Scarlet Johansson who stands around looking ill at ease in period clothing showing her very red, very puffed up lips. The Dahlia story seems more of an incidental than the focus of the film. The portrayal of poor Betty Short is very unflattering and not well-researched. It is beautifully filmed as only Brian DePalma can do, very graphic and very violent. It is not for the queasy or faint of heart.

For me there are far too many subplots, plot holes, and fictional people running around, and there is very little about Betty, with her sad demise being explained and briefly shown at the very end while we are treated to endless sexcapades of the buff hero and nittygritty police life back at the station. The gal who plays Aunt Petunia in Harry Potter films is there chewing up the scenery, and is thoroughly unbelievable in her over the top role, which I will not divulge for those who have not yet seen the movie. All the dangling loose ends are at long last gathered up in the denouement which seems forever in coming, and somehow all seems a bit hard to swallow. We all sat in the dark while the credits rolled scratching our heads- saying , huh? Uh... let me see if I got this right....

For true crime historians, this will be a let down. The sets, costuming and direction are slick, the stars are glam and sexy, but the Hodel version would have been better, and still better yet, more of the Truth and the real search by real people for the solution to the ghastly end of Betty Short.

Shelley,
Your excellant commentary answer all my questions, and confirm what I'd suspected from seeing previews of this film. I also sense that its another example of what I call "Retro-slick" An infusion of today's socio/political values onto a period peice. As well as the modern penchant for technology and chic over historical facts. It points to our laziness as a society that the movie will probably be accepted as fact -its easier and more exciting to believe the movie version of a sensational event than to actually research it (present company of historians excluded, of course)
Thanks, and keep up the good work as a writer/reviewer!
kash

Are you still going to see the movie, Kash?

Of course!
Now I can enjoy the entertainment of it, fuflill my morbid curiosity, and feel superior to the filmmakers. What more could a consumer ask for?

k

I have not seen this movie yet, but I have to say I have mixed feelings about going to see it. On the one hand I love anything about the 1940s but on the other hand I was really disturbed by what I have read about this unsolved murder. Over the weekend I got a chance to read some of the accounts in the LA Times and I checked out some web sites. Although I had heard of the Black Dahlia I had never really read anything about the details. Now I wish I had not. What a disturbing case. No human being should have to die that way. The killer not only brutally killed her but sought to humiliate her after death. I do not know if I could sit through this movie. It would give me nightmares.

The Biography channel at 9pm, eastern, tonight has a show titled "The Black Dahlia". For the insomniacs, it will be repeated at 1am, Friday morning.

I believe its a repeat but my TV listing didn't give any details.