Fridae

Director Brian De Palma is something of an institution in American filmmaking. Films like Carrie (1976), The Untouchables (1987) and Mission: Impossible (1996) mark him out as a talented director with an elegant visual style and a taste for lurid colors. However, his output in recent years has been somewhat erratic, with films like Mission to Mars (2000) and Femme Fatale being hollow and confused.

Based on an unsolved murder in the 1940s, his latest film The Black Dahlia is a Sapphic-tinted crime drama that stars some of the biggest young actors in Hollywood: Scarlett Johansson, Josh Hartnett, Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart. Josh plays a cop who is investigating the murder of a young actress. Her corpse was brutally mutilated, with her mouth sliced from ear to ear to resemble a clown's smile.

In the course of the investigation, he meets bisexual society girl Hilary Swank at a lesbian bar (with K. D. Lang performing, no less!) and they embark on a torrid affair, even as Josh nurses strong feelings for his partner's girlfriend, Scarlett Johansson. The web of lies and intrigue grows thicker when he discovers their involvement in the case...

The film boasts a luxurious sense of style and splendor, thanks to its legendary production designer Dante Ferretti (The Aviator, Gangs of New York) and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Deliverance, The Deer Hunter). The costumes worn by Scarlett and Hilary simply exude old world glamour.

However, Brian's direction is less than sure. Actors such as Hilary and Aaron are so talented, they can fly their planes without much help. But a weaker actor like Josh requires a lot of direction before he can deliver, and Brian's failure to improve on his lethargic central performance hurts the film considerably.

Our girl readers should watch it for its lesbian subplot, and a chance to see K. D. Lang perform amid lip-locking lesbian dancers at a dyke bar.