The Black Dahlia (2006, USA)

Whose brilliant idea was it to let Josh Hartnett anchor a movie? Altogether dull, overwrought, and generally pointless, Brian De Palma’s The Black Dahlia suffers most from glacial pacing and an awful script, but it doesn’t help that its “hero” is played so flat that the extravagant period sets often upstage him. Unfortunately, Hartnett is not the only problem in the cast. As Hartnett’s partner and best friend, Aaron Eckhart, so fantastically smarmy and enthusiastic in Thank You For Smoking, is given absolutely nothing to do but freak out for no apparent reason. Hilary Swank’s entire character (and let’s not get into that bizarre accent) makes no sense whatsoever, and while Scarlett Johansson pouts quite well, and certainly looks lovely in 1940’s garb, both actresses seem far too modern for this particular period piece. Swap out Jennifer Connolly for Swank (which would also make the physical comparison between Swank’s character and the Dahlia, played in film stock by Mia Kirshner, much more believable), get rid of Johansson altogether, and let Eckhart play Hartnett’s role, and maybe there would be something here. As it stands, I still say that Sisters and The Untouchables are the only decent films that De Palma has ever made (and yes, that includes Scarface).