The Black Dahlia looks a treat and has a couple of wonderful scenes that remind the viewer of vintage DePalma. This is stylish neo-noir, a look at the dark underbelly of Hollywood made with panache.
So, why then, is the film such a disaster? Perhaps Altman could have dealt with all the characters and the multiple story strands but DePalma present the audience with a cinematic mess; incoherent story lines, poor script, performances that veer from the merely adequate to the wildly campy all contribute to this mess. Characters that seem to have been added for colour turn out to be important protagonists whilst inordinately long stretches of the film are devoted to story development that is going nowhere.
By the time Fiona Shaw pops up (seemingly under the impression that she is in a high camp remake of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane") the film has crumbled under the weight of the poor writing and DePalma's lack of direction.
So, why then, is the film such a disaster? Perhaps Altman could have dealt with all the characters and the multiple story strands but DePalma present the audience with a cinematic mess; incoherent story lines, poor script, performances that veer from the merely adequate to the wildly campy all contribute to this mess. Characters that seem to have been added for colour turn out to be important protagonists whilst inordinately long stretches of the film are devoted to story development that is going nowhere.
By the time Fiona Shaw pops up (seemingly under the impression that she is in a high camp remake of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane") the film has crumbled under the weight of the poor writing and DePalma's lack of direction.