Synopsis
In 1940s Los Angeles, two former boxers-turned-cops must grapple with corruption, narcissism, stag films and family madness as they pursue the killer of an aspiring young actress.
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Cast
- Josh HartnettBucky Bleichert
- Scarlett JohanssonKay Lake
- Aaron EckhartLee Blanchard
- Hilary SwankMadeleine Linscott
- Mia KirshnerElizabeth Short
- Mike StarrDet. Russ Millard
- Fiona ShawRamona Linscott
- Patrick FischlerDeputy DA Ellis Loew
- James OtisDolph Bleichert
- John KavanaghEmmett Linscott
Recommendations
- 70
The Hollywood Reporter
The second half feels heavy and unfulfilled, potential greatness reduced to a good movie plagued with problems. - 70
Village Voice
Although the action set pieces are impressive, the exposition is sluggish. For all the posh dollies, high angles, and Venetian-blind crisscross patterns, The Black Dahlia rarely achieves the rhapsodic (let alone the delirious). - 67
Entertainment Weekly
The film is more than a little in love with the corruption it finds under the floorboards -- and that, of course, is perfectly dandy. I wouldn't trust a film noir that wasn't enthralled by decadence. - 63
Premiere
You've got to give the guy (De Palma) some credit. He's made a bizarre, baffling and at times flat-out bad movie. But at least it's rarely boring. - 60
Variety
"Chinatown" it ain't, not in any department. On its own level, however, new pic generates a reasonable degree of intrigue. - 60
L.A. Weekly
Swank's character and her performance are good enough to merit a movie of their own, instead of serving as fourth wheel to this lifeless ménage à trois. - 40
The New Yorker
The picture is a kind of fattened goose that's been stuffed with goose-liver pâté. It's overrich and fundamentally unsatisfying. - 40
New York Magazine (Vulture)
It's a stilted thing--overstylized and inexpressive, like high-school kids playing dress-up, or bad Kabuki.
