Black Dahlia

Watched Black Dahlia this last w/end - rental job.

I have to say, if I'm honest, I thought it was rubbish.

Now, the whole point of a crime-thriller/drama type thing is that it's about the murder(s). Yes, there will be personal stuff about the detectives or whatever, but the focus has to be on them trying to capture the murderer.

Black Dahlia seemed to be about anything but the murder. The whole plot just seemed to be tacked on to a bunch of hugely melodramatic (and rather implausible) relationships and shags there related. There were so many sub-plots and related goings-on it just lost all focus.

And what's worse is that most of these sub-plots were utterly irrelevant. I mean, a good sub-plot illuminates the main story in some way. These were all just useless.

The biggest crime it committed though was that in the 'last real' we get a whole series of ridiculous "plot twists" that just result in a totally bizarre explanation for the murder. I mean, seriously, it's just the most ludicrous solution ever. Especially since the body was mutilated--there's no real reason given for these mutilations, and that's got to be a part of the plot. If weird things are done to the body there has to be a reason given for them.

It's not real life, where bizarre stuff happens for no real reason, it's a story--you have to answer that stuff or you're taking the piss. And Black Dahlia was definitely taking the piss.