This is an article written to myself about the experience of watching movies + film reviews and book reviews, dedicated to the second movie "Black Dahlia" in 2021 and director Palma.
Multi-picture warning!
One swipe: Although I caught me all the time, I was a little dizzy after watching it. The amount of information in two hours was beyond imagination. Hesitated in the three-star and four-star, because I always felt that I did not understand the process of solving the case. Later, I took a step back and reflected: When I read a literary work for the first time, did I fully understand all the information and emotions that the author wants to convey to the reader every time?
The answer is: no. Like the novel "Butcher's Cross", which is very concise in sentence and vocabulary, I read it more than three times for a total of more than 8 hours before I dare to say that I really "read" (not "read") it. Why can't I be more patient with a movie that might appeal to me?
Four stars in the end: the case-solving story is more like a visual novel. I think it’s not the kind of two hours spent in a movie theater, exclaiming for special effects, leaving some tears after stepping out, and then not treating it again. American blockbuster movies that produce psychological ups and downs, it needs to focus on every detail and actor's performance like reading a novel, and for the first time, I was completely attracted by the beautiful pictures (except for the corpse part)-the whole movie The light, shadow and tone are so beautiful that they can't be retrofitted. I think I didn't understand it, maybe not because the director didn't tell a good story, but because of myself. In addition, as a voice controller, Josh, Hillary, Scarlett, listening to their three voices is enjoyable. So I gave it four stars.
Two, three, four brushes: decisively give five stars, every shot is worth replaying. Especially the sad and tangled expressions that Bach showed in watching Betty Short's film, I immediately understood why he later hated Madeleine, and did not hesitate to treat the woman he loved for so many times. Fired on the ground. There is also Madeleine’s erratic accent. The first time I saw her, she felt that she had a British accent and an authentic American accent. It was very strange, but later I understood what was going on (this point is clearly described in the original book). After reading the book, I found out that the actor Hillary is amazing~)
I don't know how other people define bad movies, but I think this does not prevent this movie from becoming my favorite. After I have read it 5 times in 4 days, I think maybe I will review it from time to time in the future.
After reading the original novel:
In general, the movie is still a restoration of the original. The lines of many movies directly copy the original lines and design the story according to the logic of the original. The choice of actors is also good. But the movie does omit about 1/4 of the plot, and important parts of it include:
1- The clip where Lee escaped to Mexico and Madeleine hacked Lee with an axe-when I read this part, I thought it was quite reasonable-more intriguing than the plot in the movie where Lee and George fell downstairs together;
2- After Lee died, Kai and Bacchi got married, and there are descriptions about their conflicts after marriage, Kai’s indifference, Bacchi’s stubborn description, and the last two letters that Kai left to Bacchi, for Kaihe Bach’s characterization and exploration of his inner activities are very important. It is a pity that the movie (perhaps because of space considerations) was not made.
3- Elizabeth Short's death caused great pressure and pain to Bach's spirit, and its influence on the relationship between him and the characters around him. Seeing the specific description of Bucci’s psychological activities in the novel, I really understand that in the movie, before Bacc shot Madeleine, Madeleine’s sentence: "You won’t shoot me, don’t forget me. Who looks like. Because of that girl, that sad, dead bitch, she is everything to you." The reason and intention-there is no such line in the novel, but I think it's wonderful! I believe that anyone who understands this sentence will not think it is a bad movie.
(I like this two-person rivalry so much, every subtle expression and language of Buggy and Madeleine is worthy of exaggeration~)
Of course, there are other things, such as the explanation of Bach’s background and the entanglement between Lee and Dwight, which are also very clear, but the overall story does not affect the development of the story, because the novel itself also has some unclear points.
Let me talk about my views on the main actors of the movie after reading the description of the original book:
Josh Harnett, because the film is narrated in the first person, he is featured in almost every scene, plus the narration. The appearance and age at the time of the performance (28 years old, but he looks a bit more vicissitudes than his actual age) quite in line with the original description (29-32 years old, black hair, height 6'3-equivalent to 190cm, tall and thin, rabbit teeth) . The acting is much more delicate and layered than during the "Pearl Harbor" period. At the end of the film, the rivalry with Hillary Swank in the motel is the pinnacle of the film's acting. Finally, after watching the film, I was worried for a moment that the actor would be stuck in the role of being difficult to get out of, and psychologically depressed... His appearance is definitely good-looking, he is well-dressed in retro style, but he is very selective in light and angle, and the angle is wrong. Become a simple and honest boy, so I suspect that the director and photographer are very partial to him...
Hilary Swank, this is the first film I watched in which she starred. When she was 32 years old, she was quite a mature woman, so that the first time I saw it, Madeleine was a character similar to a femme fatale. Later, I read the book to realize that the character is actually in his early 20s, younger than the male protagonist Bachebrecht, and the character itself is more three-dimensional than the "femme beauty". At the first brush, as long as she is present, the eyes cannot leave her. A strong aura is one aspect, but she explains the innocuous cruelty and disapproving arrogance very well. Hillary has given Madeleine a different vitality. Such a Madeleine is worthy of Bach’s love and hatred, and is convincing. It can be said that her acting skills and screenwriting arrangements have sublimated the original Madeleine~ Already Mark the movie she starred in as "want to watch".
Scarlett Johansson, the widow's appearance and temperament are very good, although she is young (only 22 years old when the film was released), she is absolutely charming, and the moment of appearance and bathroom is quite amazing. It’s just that I personally feel that the performance in certain episodes is not strong enough. For example, in the scenes before and after Li was killed, Buggy went to her. It was obvious that Josh was immersed in the scene but Scarlett was not so dedicated. Take on the opponent's play. And after the Spring Festival Night with Madeleine, Bacchi and Madeleine ran into Kay who was driving. Those lines were very reluctant. At the end of the movie, when Bacchi was horrified by hallucinations, Kay, who was opposite him, stared blankly. He acted as if unaware. I have to say that the widow’s performance this time is like a comment from a netizen: “It’s like oil floating on water.” The two kiss scenes between her and Josh can see the true feelings, but the personal feelings reflect even more. It was mostly Bach's pain and entanglement rather than Kay.
Mia Koschnai, the absolute heroine, shrouds the lives of Bach and Kay like a ghost. There are not many descriptions of Betty in the novel, mainly through the evaluation of people related to her (mostly negative evaluations), and how Bacchi is shrouded in psychological pain like a ghost, giving people a creepy feeling, like " Butterfly Dream. The clip about Betty’s audition in the movie does not appear in the novel, but it is definitely the finishing touch, revealing her inner wandering side-maybe it was the actor's sad eyes that gave me my imagination, I think Betty actually knows exactly what she is doing. She also knew that she couldn't get into the real Hollywood, but while she swallowed her tears (paralyzed herself) and comforted herself, the ambivalence felt vividly and vividly in the actors. Is she also expressing herself through performance when she says Scarlett O'Hara's line "I will never go hungry"?
Fiona Shaw (that is, Ramona, Madeleine's mother, and an actor who is also Harry Potter's aunt): The appearance and temperament are too appropriate, and there is no trace of acting. The ending of the movie that made her commit suicide by drinking a gun is more pleasant than the ending of the novel that allowed her to escape without guilt, but it makes the story less bleak.
A summary of the novel: I have read the works of Raymond Chandler and Lawrence Block before. Although none of them have been read completely yet, I only finished reading "Black Dahlia" in two days, and I selected them. A lot of excerpts from sentences that feel well written. I can only say that I may feel that Elroy’s language style (words, sentence patterns, description) and way of telling stories (frame structure, story development rhythm) are more congenial to me, and his description of Los Angeles has made me more than once. Thinking of huge black swirls and flocks of crows flying through the feasting streets is like "Cyberpunk 2077" after adding retro filters and mixing magic realism.
Finally, recall that "Catherine" is really the preferred name of many writers and screenwriters, and gives them a variety of personalities and unparalleled demeanor.
"Wuthering Heights"-Catherine who dares to love and hate (but I always feel that whether it is Juliet Binoche or Charlotte Riley after watching 3 versions of the movie);
"Farewell, Weapon"-Catherine who composes the sad song of love with her life;
"Instinct"-Catherine the most feminine beauty;
"The Vampire Diaries"-Catherine the most cunning and changeable;
"British Patient"-the most missed Catherine (sighing that Sister K in the movie is too beautiful);
"Black Dahlia"-Catherine with the softest heart (the ending of the novel has a sense of tranquility with pyrotechnics, I like it very much).
Compared with the novel, the ending of the film is a bit unsatisfactory, but the pictures and lighting are extremely beautiful, and it is also worthy of stickers~
(Film ending plot: After Bacchi shot Madeleine and returned home in despair, he saw the illusion of Elizabeth's body on the grass. After being frightened, he slowly saw the reality. The lighting effect here is amazing!)
The scene of the crow pecking at the corpse is a bit terrifying and will not be released...
At this time, looking back at Bucky and Kay before the Dahlia case happened:
I have to sigh that it was a good time then! "That was the best time of my life."—— Dwight Bucky Blechert.
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