The Black Dahlia Critic Reviews

Hartnett and co-star Scarlett Johansson--that most fatale of current filmic femmes--are naturals for this kind of noir-hued material, but the pairing of Ellroy and De Palma proves a marriage made in hardboiled heaven.Read the full review

The second half feels heavy and unfulfilled, potential greatness reduced to a good movie plagued with problems.Read the full review

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.Read the full review

"Chinatown" it ain't, not in any department. On its own level, however, new pic generates a reasonable degree of intrigue.Read the full review

The Black Dahlia captivates with its dark style. But as with the particulars of the yet-unsolved case, the movie is frustratingly convoluted. What it accomplishes with its stunning cinematography and set design is undercut by a lack of coherence.Read the full review

The world of The Black Dahlia is beyond bleak, beyond film noir.Read the full review

Looks and flows great, dripping with the 1940s crime-thriller atmosphere that James Ellroy described in his 1987 novel. On other levels -- plot (overstuffed), suspense (muted), acting (Hilary Swank as a femme fatale? Please!), posing (Scarlett Johansson plays dress-up as a mini Lana Turner), sex (it's all before and after) -- the movie is a bust.Read the full review

The first thing you notice about this so-so adaptation of James Ellroy's novel is the shoddy acting.Read the full review

A few scenes are worth the price of admission for their inspired camp alone; Shaw happens to be in two of them.Read the full review