Officer Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert (Hartnett) is an L.A. cop teamed up with Sgt. Leland "Lee" Blanchard (Eckhart) in the sometimes gritty and often glamorous world of Hollywoodland.  Bleichert is a thoughtful young man, perhaps slightly naive to the corruption around him.  Blanchard is a grizzled veteran whose obsessive nature and tough-guy persona often gets his hands dirty more than most others on the force.

Blanchard's girl is Kay Lake (Johansson), a sultry and buxom blonde who has her eye on our young Bucky.  The trio dynamic works for while, but you can sense the underlying tension of it all.

I have to skip some parts of the convoluted plot and many of the sub plots... There are just too many to fit in.  The gist of the film revolves around a famous true-life slaying of a young wannabe starlet with raven black hair and a penchant for matching lace and silk.  Her name is Elizabeth Short (Kirshner), and she is found dead in the most gruesome fashion.  Her body is cut in half.  Her organs are missing.  Her mouth slit ear to ear.  Her blood drained.  Who did this?  Why did they do it?  What other mysteries will her death unfold.  And how will her beauty and sadness affect the men and women involved in the case from beyond the grave?

I really wanted to love this film for many reasons...

I love film noir.
I really admire De Palma's visionary style.
I am a huge fan of the mystery of the Black Dahlia.
I am in love with Mia Kirshner... She is a great actress.
I think Scarlett is a mesmerizing young star.
I like Eckhart on screen... he is a force.
I think Hartnett is growing into a solid actor.
The resemblance to L.A. Confidential was a thrilling plus.

Everything about this film screamed quality.  I was sure it would be a contender for my year-end top 10 list.  Unfortunately, it just never happened.  So why?

Well, when driving home from the theatre, I tried to pinpoint the flaws but had a tough time doing so.  The fact is that there is nothing glaringly wrong with the film... I was just slightly detached from it all.  The strength of the film was its cinematography.  Every puff of cigarette smoke.  Every drop of blood from a cop's knuckle.  Every glimpse of female skin.  Every rain soaked night.  All of it was shot with an eye for cinematic beauty.  It is one of the best looking films of 2006.

The acting is uniformly solid.  I thought that the cast may have been a touch too young for the material... especially in the case of Hartnett and Johansson.  They did fine jobs in the roles, but felt ever so slightly miscast.  The only mediocre performance comes from Hilary Swank, who just tries a little too hard to be seductive.  It comes across as awkward on occasion.

The standout is Mia Kirshner, a favorite of mine for over a decade now.  She is perfectly cast as the desperately lonely actress looking for her big break.  All of her flashback scenes are shot in a luxurious black and white that only adds to the emotional turmoil and poignancy she portrays.  This is Oscar material and she should be on pins and needles next February when the Best Supporting Actress nominations are announced.

While writing this review, I think I have narrowed down my reason for detachment.  "The Black Dahlia" is too big for this film.  There is too much to cram into two hours.  It was based on the legendary James Ellroy novel of the same name... a format that probably allowed for all the intricacies and nuances required to make this story fulfilling.  It might also work as a 10 hour mini-series.  But film seems too short a medium to cram all of it in.  Perhaps a re-edit would do the trick.  Perhaps too much would be lost.  Perhaps it just needed to slow things down a little and become a three hour film.

I have a few specific issues with this film that are lingering with me in the hours after seeing it.  I understand the whole "cigarette" thing when it comes to film noir... but here it got completely out of hand.  I definitely don't have a general problem with smoking in movies, like some people.  However, I think there are cigarettes being lit in well over 90% of the scenes in this film... Heck, in one scene, a character lights two cigarettes in his mouth at once.  It became so noticeable as to seem farcical.

I also was distracted by the melodramatic score.  It felt like a soap opera at times and didn't add to the mood or suspense of the proceedings.

There is so much to love about the potential of this film.  It really felt like a masterpiece that just ran out of screen time.  I think most viewers will end up scratching their heads trying to figure out who has what to do with who and what who has to do with what.  I am giving the film a mild recommendation for noir buffs and those who appreciate an aesthetically magnificent movie.  It is a worthy effort that feels more like a practice run than a finished product.

Mia Kirshner is "The Black Dahlia"