The Black Dahlia
Sep. 17th, 2006 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ceebeegeeSo apparently this is my weekend to see disturbing movies. I saw The Black Dahlia last night. This movie is based on a real case that happened in LA in 1947--I first read about it in a very strange book called Hollywood Babylon that had pictures of the case. A young woman named Elizabeth Short was found dead in an empty lot near the HOLLYWOOD sign--her body was unbelievably brutalized and cut in half. They never found the killer.
The movie is based on a novel by James Ellroy that uses the murder as a basis for an almost completely fictional plot--as such, it "solves" the murder. Although I was hoping for a lot more focus on Elizabeth Short, and there were large swatches of plot that went COMPLETELY over my head, I found it a compelling, terribly sad movie nonetheless. Mia Kershner does a great job as Elizabeth Short--she has these pale blue eyes that are just haunting. Hilary Swank is terrific as an heiress with an insanely messed-up family--she's supposed to be a look-alike for Elizabeth Short but she really doesn't look that much like her. They should've colored her hair black and made her up in a paler base. But she looks terrific nonetheless. Josh Hartnett is also great, although I found Scarlett Johnasson less than compelling. But she also looks very glam and noir-ish. I'm such an aesthete because if a film looks good, I forgive a lot. And the exteriors for this are amazing--there's a really neat feature on the website for the movie, where you can compare LA in 1947 to LA of today.
I couldn't stop thinking about the movie last night. Oh man. That poor girl. God bless her. I can't even imagine what her final hours must've been like.
The movie is based on a novel by James Ellroy that uses the murder as a basis for an almost completely fictional plot--as such, it "solves" the murder. Although I was hoping for a lot more focus on Elizabeth Short, and there were large swatches of plot that went COMPLETELY over my head, I found it a compelling, terribly sad movie nonetheless. Mia Kershner does a great job as Elizabeth Short--she has these pale blue eyes that are just haunting. Hilary Swank is terrific as an heiress with an insanely messed-up family--she's supposed to be a look-alike for Elizabeth Short but she really doesn't look that much like her. They should've colored her hair black and made her up in a paler base. But she looks terrific nonetheless. Josh Hartnett is also great, although I found Scarlett Johnasson less than compelling. But she also looks very glam and noir-ish. I'm such an aesthete because if a film looks good, I forgive a lot. And the exteriors for this are amazing--there's a really neat feature on the website for the movie, where you can compare LA in 1947 to LA of today.
I couldn't stop thinking about the movie last night. Oh man. That poor girl. God bless her. I can't even imagine what her final hours must've been like.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-09-17 10:29 pm (UTC)The most disturbing movie I think I ever saw was Requiem for a Dream.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-17 11:10 pm (UTC)If you're talking about the unformed-genitalia defect making it impossible for her to have sex, I've read differing accounts of that. A lot of people say different things about it--it would be interesting to read the actual coroner's report.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-18 02:09 am (UTC)The details are not on the ANTM site, but there was a thread about the house on televisionwithoutpity's ANTM forum. I think is was the first season in LA, but it may have been the second, that they stayed at that house. Also, the recapper mentioned it in her recap. Either the girls did not know or it was not put on air that they did.