If you're hoping to get the Brian DE Palma of "The Untouchables" and "Scarface", be prepared--this is from DE Palma's "Femme Fatale" period and it's not as good. How did one of our greatest directors; one of our greatest writers (James Ellroy) and a top-notch cast team up for such an epic failure? I guarantee that when they hand out the Razzies at the end of the year for the worst cinematic performances of the year--this film will win a bundle.
What went wrong? Basically, everything except Mia Kirshner. The movie stumbles out of the gate and never gets a pace or rhythm. There is a long opening which teams up Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett that makes no sense and takes takes up at least 20 minutes of screen time. One could say that so much has been written about the Black Dahlia case that nothing new can be said. Ellroy, who wrote the book on this subject, must know that. The screenplay is no Ellroy novelistic masterpiece; he is clueless writing for the screen. The acting is so bad one would think that it came from an SNL skit rather than the otherwise good actors in the cast. Particularly inept are two-time Academy Award winning actress, Hillary Swank, who never is convincing for one second in an over-the-top vampy turn. This is also Scarlett Johansson's worst work to date. Was she just lucky in "Lost in Translation"? Everything she's done lately stinks and this is the worst of her recent performances.
The movie starts bad and, over time, degenerates into an incomprehensible story which tries to be noirish but is plain laughable. Ellroy tries to weave several themes into the film and none works. Viewers should rent "True Confessions" which, despite its flaws, manages to work meaningful symbols and metaphors out of the same Black Dahlia case. While it, too, failed to come close to the fantastic novel on which it was based, no one laughed at the effort.
Considering the aspirations this movie had and the talent involved, this is the worst American movie of the year.
What went wrong? Basically, everything except Mia Kirshner. The movie stumbles out of the gate and never gets a pace or rhythm. There is a long opening which teams up Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett that makes no sense and takes takes up at least 20 minutes of screen time. One could say that so much has been written about the Black Dahlia case that nothing new can be said. Ellroy, who wrote the book on this subject, must know that. The screenplay is no Ellroy novelistic masterpiece; he is clueless writing for the screen. The acting is so bad one would think that it came from an SNL skit rather than the otherwise good actors in the cast. Particularly inept are two-time Academy Award winning actress, Hillary Swank, who never is convincing for one second in an over-the-top vampy turn. This is also Scarlett Johansson's worst work to date. Was she just lucky in "Lost in Translation"? Everything she's done lately stinks and this is the worst of her recent performances.
The movie starts bad and, over time, degenerates into an incomprehensible story which tries to be noirish but is plain laughable. Ellroy tries to weave several themes into the film and none works. Viewers should rent "True Confessions" which, despite its flaws, manages to work meaningful symbols and metaphors out of the same Black Dahlia case. While it, too, failed to come close to the fantastic novel on which it was based, no one laughed at the effort.
Considering the aspirations this movie had and the talent involved, this is the worst American movie of the year.