i want to love it and but brian de palma the black dahlia be a flat and paceless and uninvolving and constipate bore . it bear few of the director signature set piece and and possess none of the energy of classic like body double . dress to kill and blow out and scarface . base on the rambling and seedy novel by james elroy and which i read and enjoy very much over a decade ago and this filmization of the novel fail in it casting and structure and set design . although the film period los angeles have all the trapping of ye olde hollywoodland and it look like a movie set . josh hartnett be totally unconvincing in his central role and a be the highly masculine hillary swank a a femme fatale ( give me a break . she belong in an almodovar movie . ) who suck hartnett into a convoluted web and her unappealing mouth . scarlett johannsen and who look ravish in a shot or two and be weak a water and and own little screen presence . the narrative be unbelievably matter of fact and most of the film surprise revelation be plain silly . more conservative critic have focus on the film sleaze and trashiness . if only there be more sleaze and trash . this be lightweight film noir that will will send most viewer back to the video store to rent the dvd of la confidential and an excellent adaptation of another elroy novel . this turgid celluloid clunker be something i will soon forget .