Flowers among the Weeds

For long stretches of Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, virtually nothing blooms. Dante Ferretti's art direction and Jenny Beavan's costumes are never less than consummate, but there's no heart beating inside the film, or rather, it beats in such odd, narrow, unexpected places that you wonder whether the director is even interested in the central content of his film. Ultimately, he is enormously interested, but only if you concede that the four major protagonists and the dented, convoluted adaptation of James Ellroy's plot are not the focal points they appear to be.

Instead, focus your attention on Mia Kirshner as Elizabeth Short, the "Black Dahlia" herself, and on Fiona Shaw in the third-tier role of Ramona Linscott. Trust me, it won't be hard. In fact, you won't be able to look away. Days later, you may find yourself revisiting this stunted and often foolish film with an almost haunted interest—exactly the sort of gravitational pull on both memory and conscience that the film means to describe, and which, despite being something of a mangled corpse itself, the movie powerfully recreates. Click here for my full review, and by all means, post your comments. This movie exists to be argued about.

(Image © 2006 Universal Pictures)