Ok...what in the HELL happened? Everything was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo confusing. Could anyone explain teh entire movie to me or show me a website that exlpains the movie's plot, please???
shareHere is a website that tells it all, at least it explained for me wth happenend in the movie! It's a long story, but you should read it all and you will understand it better!!!
http://www.themoviespoiler.com/Spoilers/blackdahlia.html
**SPOILERS**This movie has the worst script and acting. if you haven't seen it, don't it's pathetic.
spoiler 1. Hillary Swank's mother kills the Dahlia because her creepy boyfriend had the hots for her and women are always killing 15 year olds in a sadistic, mutilating fashion. never men. it's the MO of drunk women.
Spoiler 2. Josh Hartnet has to sleep with or the F-word Hillary Swank because he has the hots for her, even though she's a creepy suspect. and says the F-word because it's edgy and we've never heard such language before. then josh kills Hillary because she killed his partner who had tried to make him the patsy for stealing money from the murder scene where the partner, unbeknown to Josh, had committd the murders.
it's a horribly trite formula movie. box. say f-word. have sex. say f-word. kill somebody. repeat. for 2 hours. i don't think it has anyhing to do with real black dahlia case.
Ask a fish head anything you want to, they won't answer. They can't talk.
Bugger I really enjoyed the book and only watched 30 minutes of the film before falling asleep, but by the sounds of it the movie really detracts from the book.
Thanks for the post Fishheadsweety you should get an award for sitting through that
Hell is other People
THis film is pretty terrible, I'm an hour in and I'm giving up...................
shareJust saw and and still try to figure out the plot. Has anybody written a decent synopsis on this board ?
shareRead the book. Clearly not as good as la confidential, but pretty good.
Oh, good. For a moment there I thought we were in trouble.
Thank goodness. I watched this movie yesterday after a long day at work and I thought I was really, REALLY tired because I understood nothing. My reactions throughout the whole movie were: "What?!" or "Ok..." I'm glad I'm not alone!
shareOK, you couldn't understand a movie because it actually makes you sit there and think about it. James Ellroy, the author the novel, which is a noir classic, is the master of the complex seedy underworld that Chandler and Hammett made famous and DePalma brings a nice dark look to the story, which is completely original, and if oyu just pay attention, everything makes complete sense in this movie. I love it.
It's more than a story about the Black Dahlia, its a story about that whole era, its a story about the "Brotherhood" of police officers, of corruption, and the steamy underworld of 1950s LA... watch it again with a more open mind, you just may surprise yourself and see what a great movie it is.
There's nothing to understand my friend, this movie was garbage. It was a complete and utter waste of talent, film, writers and above all else a good story. It was a giant piece of s@it.
Watch LA Confidential and just forget about this and anything Brian DeDouchebag has ever done. Including Scarface (yeah I said it).
There will never be anyone quite like Audrey Hepburn
Thank God, jallport1990 -- I'm not alone! I love this film and have watched it many times, not because I'm confused in any way, but because I find it exciting, Mia Kirshner was fantastic and I adore Josh Hartnett.
Only in Show Biz by injection
the movie has betty at 20-something, not 15. the blonde girl that she did the stag film with was 15
shareOk...what in the HELL happened? Everything was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo confusing. Could anyone explain teh entire movie to me or show me a website that exlpains the movie's plot, please???
It IS a terrible film. This is from what I gathered:
There are two major plots: the Elizabeth Short case and the DeWitts case, both involved two investigators - Lee Blanchard (the Fire boxer) and Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert (the Ice boxer). The beginning of the film - the riots and the boxing match - is just there to explain how they became partners and friends. It also supposed to explain why Bucky was willing to get in the ring with Lee; he did it for his senile father who needed 24-hour care. This however gained him a job promotion and some money, anyway.
LEE BLANCHARD
Lee became obsessed with the Short case because his own sister was murdered (there is an implication that his sister's murderer was never caught). He didn't want that to happen to Short, but he slowly had a breakdown when the truth about Short's life came out (stag films, casual prostitution, liar, etc.) because he thought she was "pure" like his late sister. If her lifestyle led her to her death, does this mean his sister could have had a secret lifestyle, too?
He was also obsessed with DeWitts because of his involvement with the bank robbery case and because of a chance that DeWitts could hurt Kay again. He killed Baxter Fitch (who introduced Kay to Blanchard, thus her information about the bank robbery in return for Blanchard's protection of her from DeWitts) to stop him associating Lee (and Kay) to the case. He also killed DeWitts for the same reason.
He was killed by Madeleine Linscott because he'd figured out the link between Elizabeth Short and the Linscott family. Instead of charging them, he blackmailed them for the money.
Morrie Friedman (Blanchard's informant and the owner of many LA clubs) chose to hide Blanchard's death because Blanchard's involvement and death could cause too many awkward questions by the media and public for the LA police and the crime underworld.
THE LINSCOTT FAMILY
Her father, Emmett Linscott, realised his 11-year-old daughter, Madeleine, was the real daughter of his long-time friend George "Georgie" Tilden because she looked just like Georgie. In other words, his wife Ramona had an affair with Georgie and gave birth to their love child, Madeleine.
As revenge, Emmett indirectly caused a car accident that destroyed Georgie's face (and the accident also possibly made him mentally handicapped) and thus making him no better than an errand man and gardener.
There was also an implication that Emmett also got greedy because Georgie was rising fast through their construction business (buying cheap building materials from Mack Sennett (real-life studio owner) and re-sells them to be used for the real estate), so Emmett stomped on him to gain a bigger role in their business. From then, there was a strong implication that he and Madeleine were having an incestuous affair.
Madeleine recruited various girls (through "sister" clubs and nightclubs) for her father's sideline business, making stag films in their abandoned construction lots. This is how she knew Elizabeth Short and her friends.
When Georgie became interested in Elizabeth Short, he and Ramona killed her. Ramona admitted in the end that she hated Madeleine for having Georgie's face because if it wasn't for that, Emmett would never discovered the truth and wouldn't have ruined Georgie's face (and mind). Elizabeth Short looked like Madeleine, hence their mulilation of Short's body and face. In other words, Ramona did things to Short she would have loved doing to her own daughter. (It's not clear whether she was aware that her daughter was in a sexual relationship with her husband Emmett, but I think she knew because of these comments she made about both Short and Madeleine's sexual lives.)
They apparently left the body near where Baxter Fitch was shot (by Lee). This location is the crux of two cases. When the investigation was made, Bucky was manipulated by Madeleine to keep him away from finding out the truth.
However, Lee Blanchard figured out the link and tried to blackmail Emmett, so Georgie and Madeleine killed him to protect themselves and Emmett. Ramona was seemingly devastated that Georgie died with Lee, which was probably why she fell apart in the end.
MY COMMENTS
That's the gist of it. :/ I'm sure I got some details wrong, but that's what I gathered to my best ability. I think the film would be good if the DeWitts case was left out. I think it was there to explain how much pressures Lee was under and to make Bucky see that Lee and Kay weren't as clean-cut or perfect as he thought.
I think his realisation began when Lee neglected the Nash case for the DeWitts case. He thought Lee was a "good crusader for justice", but when Nash was killed after killing a shop owner and the (possible rape) and killing of the shop keeper's little child, Bucky realised that Lee was driven by his own needs, not for justice. The death of the little child could have been prevented had Lee focused on the Nash case. That was the first crack in their friendship.
Either way, it's a terrible film. The scriptwriter seemed to have bitten off more than he could chew.
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Last film seen: The Black Dahlia (2006)
Great Summary! However, I have to disagree with you and say that I enjoyed this film. I enjoy actually having to analyze and think about the plot of a movie every once in a while, instead of watching mindless action movies. Now, I haven't read the book that this film was based off of or researched the actual case, but as far as the movie goes, I thought the complex plot and character development made for a more realistic movie. This also leaves more for the viewer to interpret, which I think people should give a shot at. I think most people don't like this film because they don't understand it. All I have to say is watch the movie all the way through with an open mind and see what you get out of the film. My only complaint is that I'm sure they didn't use the "F" word that often back in the day as they did in the movie, but what do you know...it's Hollywood. I also think that the way the script was written, which people complain about not making sense, only adds to the feeling that the characters don't know what the hell is going on either (until the end). This brings the viewer into the action to try and figure out what is going on!
shareNo, I like thinking and I'm not dumb. We could figure out some of the plot, but we just left feeling like nothing had been resolved.
shareBlack Dahlia is a decent movie but I understand why the hell a lot of people confused. The writer of the book Jame Ellroy was upset with all of the editing of the movie. The true story of the murder isn't really identified but neither is it in the book. The relationship between Kay and Bucky way different in the book. Several other points are cleared in this movie but its good to see Josh Harnett in a different role. Overall it's about a six rated film.
shareBest summary i've read about the movie, well done,mcvillain! I liked the movie, the problem is the screenplay, too much things happen at the same time, and plot twists to a mere 2 hours long movie, aah! and two other BIG problems was the cast of Hillary Swank and Fiona Shaw, Hillary was miscast, no way she had the looks (or even the acting skills) to perform a "Femme Fatale" and Shaw was embarassing, mediocre & over the top performance. Mia Kirschner gave the best performance in such a limited screentime, her screentest scenes haunted me for hours after i saw the movie.
sharenice one mac, that was very helpful. I've no idea how anyone could figure this all out without help, but I guess it needs another viewing or two.
reminds me a little of miller's crossing, very confusing at first, but after another watch it became clear, and it now ranks as one of my all time favourites. also mulholland drive, it takes nerve to create a movie very few will understand first time round.
I know you made that response two years ago, but I finally watched Miller's Crossing (which has been on my To Watch list since I saw your recommendation). I enjoyed it a lot. I regret that I didn't watch it sooner. Anyway, thank you for recommending it.
shareFrom the diector of "Sisters", "Blow-Out", "Dressed To Kill", "Carrie" and the silly but very amusing "Raising Cain", this film was the disappointment of the decade ... don't bother to try to work it out...after making the effort you'll still be left with one of De Palma's dreariest films.
But you ARE Blanche ... and I AM.
Thank you for starting this post. I feel I am a reasonable person when it comes to movies, but this plot line was just off the wall and into the trash can. I wrestled through the entire film and know less about it than when it started. Thank you all for being honest. I feel I have not gone senile just yet, but I am working on it!
shareAs I was watching the film, I thought the second half was all in Bucky's mind, and I was expecting to see him wake up in a hospital. At least that would have made sense. Cliched, but... detective losing his mind, could work. Cause otherwise, this was one of the most confusing, contrived, over-actingest pieces of cinema. De Palma has lost it.
shareI think the problem with the film is nothing to do with the multiple plot lines. Its problem is we are given no clue throughout the film to suggest that the mum killed her.
Oh, and for those wondering if they would have used the word *beep* in this period I think the answer is a definite yes.
OK, just seen in the New Year (GMT) watching this and thought I'd log in here to get some answers.
Glad it wasn't just me then.
Think I'll watch LA Confidential again to remind myself I'm not thick...
Oh and happy New Year everyone!
I watched it with two friends and literally we all said 'what the hell' as soon as it finished. I have no clue what was going on and less of a clue about the point...
I was confused from the word go, no idea why the girl was murdered and less of an idea about why that crazy old lady murdered her. She had no screen time at all and then at the end comes out, warbled something and then shot herself.
Yeah just...think this is the worst film iv ever seen.
'The voice says i'm almost out of minutes'
proud saltgunner!
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