In a message dated 9/17/06 8:41:02 AM,
buildsnburns@yahoo.com writes:
>
>
> I not only liked THE BLACK DAHLIA movie,
and
> don't care much how much Elroy was involved
in
> it, but as a "movie," it is visually, one of
the
> best I've seen in years.
>
> Seeing the movie sent me back to the book. I
have
> reread 150 pages, and some scenes are
lifted
> almost verbatim from the book. Some details
are
> askew, but, I think, necessarily so.
>
> For example in the book, the evidence
that
> Scarlett Johansson's Kay Lake was
tortured
> required quick, visual evidence that Lee
> Blanchard didn't do it.
>
> The movie is noir, Lee is screwed as are Kay
and
> Bucky in the long run. Bucky, in a sense
was
> screwed from the beginning when he was in
the
> boxing match with Lee.
>
> What jumps out at me is that the movie is
> surreal, as is the case of the Black
Dahlia
> itself. All of the cops act it straight,
except
> perhaps for the guy doing the autopsy--and
that
> might have been a subtle slap at TV like
CSI.
>
> The other characters: Kay, who comes off as
a
> 50s, not 40s, housewife with a tortured
past;
> Elizabeth Short, her father, and her
movie
> friends; Madeline, the other Linscotts, and
most
> of the minor characters are so over the top
that
> it is clearly intentional to create the
> atmosphere. (One of the things that directing
is
> all about is creating juxtapositions.)
>
> This juxtaposition of realistic and
almost
> Grand-Guignol acting styles, creates a
true
> surreal atmosphere, that emphasizes the
> surreality of the crime.
>
> Although he is not the quintessential tough
guy,
> and perhaps even a 2006 Alpha/Beta male,
I
> thought that Josh Harnett's chartacter
and
> voice-overs, not only helped with the
atmosphere,
> but helped greatly with the explanation of
the
> story.
>
> I know how some people feel: the story is
> everything, the images secondary.
Paraphrasing
> the last or nearly last line of CHINATOWN,
"It's
> a movie, guys."
>
> All that being said, the one thing that
did
> bother me was Madeleine's (Hillary
Swank's)
> insistence that she looked like Elizabeth
Short.
> Mia Kirchner as the Dahlia turned in a
superb
> performance.
>
> OK, now throw bricks.
>
your opinion is as valid as anyone else's, Jack. that's why
we have a forum. I have high hopes for the film, will be
seeing it tonight and will add my comments later
John Lau
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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