Film

The Black Dahlia

Name: The Black Dahlia
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Released: 2006
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Mia Kirshner

Brian De Palma's stylish 1940s noir about two detective partners chasing the unsolved Black Dahlia murder through a corrupt, seductive Los Angeles. It's gorgeously shot but deliberately distant—a film more interested in visual texture and moral corruption than in solving its mystery. For people who care more about atmosphere and craft than plot clarity.

TMDb rating

2.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love noir built on sticky, overheated atmosphere and tangled loyalties, and you don't mind a plot that prizes mood and obsession over tidy logic.

Skip it if you want a lean, streamlined thriller, since this one sprawls across brooding, shifting loyalties and can feel crowded with side characters and detours.

What it asks of you: It runs just over two hours at a deliberate, brooding pace, staying cold and dim in tone, and it wants steady attention to keep its many threads straight.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

L.A. Confidential1997

A sharper, leaner 1950s LA noir with a fractured detective squad, real stakes, and that same obsessive energy. The mystery actually resolves, and the moral ambiguity cuts deeper.

But Once you've seen L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia feels like the less focused version of the same impulse—which is basically what it is.

Chinatown1974

The foundational LA noir: a detective following a case deeper into corruption, money, and family secrets. Polanski's control and paranoia make De Palma look feverish by comparison, but both films understand that LA is the real killer.

But It's a masterpiece, which means The Black Dahlia will feel like an interesting experiment by comparison rather than an essential experience.

Miller's Crossing1990

Coen Brothers' Prohibition-era crime film with the same baroque dialogue, period-piece polish, and sense that everyone is performing a version of themselves. Also about loyalty and betrayal between men.

But The writing is dense and the plot twists are intricate; it rewards close attention but won't spoon-feed you.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Black Dahlia

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Laura1944

Both films center on a detective's obsessive investigation of a glamorous dead woman, using the mystery as a vehicle for exploring desire, illusion, and the impossibility of really knowing anyone.

Otto Preminger's obsessive 1940s noir about a detective falling in love with the murdered woman at the center of his case—a crime mystery that becomes a love story to a ghost. Same DNA as The Black Dahlia but decades earlier and far more elegant.

But Lean and straightforward by modern standards, which some will read as slow; the twist depends on accepting the detective's impossible attraction.

The Killing1956

Kubrick's stripped-down race-track heist noir with multiple POVs and a fractured narrative structure. Taut, clever, and obsessed with how ambition and attraction destroy partnerships.

But Shot in black-and-white on a tight budget, it's deliberately austere where The Black Dahlia is lush—some will find it less immediately pleasurable to watch.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005

Shane Black's Hollywood noir about a former criminal turned actor who gets tangled up in a murder case. It's funny, self-aware, and understands that LA crimes are always about performance and ego.

But Deliberately playful and meta, it's almost a corrective to the earnestness of The Black Dahlia—if you want that particular tone, this will feel flippant.

The Long Goodbye1973

Altman's elliptical Marlowe detective film, set in 1970s LA, where the case matters less than the alienation and the details. A masterclass in visual storytelling and atmosphere over plot.

But Deliberately loose and digressive; the narrative feels like a series of scenes rather than a propulsive story. Requires patience and active watching.

In a Lonely Place1950

Ray's masterpiece about a volatile Hollywood screenwriter accused of murder. It's also about obsession, performance, and how impossible it is to know another person's interior life. A spiritual precursor to The Black Dahlia's themes.

But Shot in stark black-and-white and emotionally bleak throughout; there's no visual glamour to cushion the darkness, which some find punishing.

The Grifters1990

Frears' adaptation of Jim Thompson's crime novel about small-time con artists and the family that binds and destroys them. Period details, moral squalor, and three-person character dynamics.

But A stranger, grittier film than The Black Dahlia, less interested in style; it'll feel like a different temperature of noir entirely.

The Act of Killing2012

Both works explore how crime becomes a story people tell themselves, and how perpetrators and investigators alike use performance and spectacle to construct meaning from violence.

Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary where Indonesian death squad leaders re-enact their own killings, creating an unsettling theatre of violence and self-justification. It shares The Black Dahlia's fascination with how murderers construct narratives and perform identities.

But Genuinely disturbing and morally difficult to watch; this isn't entertainment, it's confrontation. Some will find it unwatchable or exploitative.

Sunset Boulevard1950

Both use an unsolved or mystified woman at their center to interrogate Los Angeles, desire, and how people construct false narratives to survive. Both are about how the past won't die and how image-making becomes indistinguishable from murder.

Wilder's acid masterpiece about Hollywood ambition, decay, and obsession. A detective—or maybe just a gigolo—trapped in the orbit of a faded actress who wants to believe in her own comeback. The Black Dahlia's thematic parent.

But Misanthropic and brutal about desire and delusion; if you prefer your noir less corrosive, this is a harsh watch. Also features the film industry at its most venal.