Special Coverage 2008 Fall Movie PreviewThe Must List2008 Fall TV PreviewSound Bites

Credits

Rated: R; Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery; With: Jennifer Beals and Denzel Washington

DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS Denzel Washington, Jennifer Beals (1995, Columbia TriStar, R, priced for rental) The only real mystery in this period piece from director Carl Franklin (who made the acclaimed One False Move) is figuring out what kind of movie he intended it to be. In the late '40s, Ezekiel ''Easy'' Rawlins (a convincing Washington) just wants a quiet life and enough money to pay the mortgage on his L.A. home, but an unjust firing pushes him into snooping around in matters of murder and blackmail. Appropriately packed with simile-riddled narration, this gorgeously shot movie is too well lit to be noir, and with racism used only as a plot device, it fails as social commentary. Don Cheadle stands out as Rawlins' comically psycho friend, but the movie ultimately becomes a pursuit of stereotypically shady characters with thin mustaches -- and a methodical, boring one at that, which only becomes more apparent on the small screen. C+


Posted Apr 05, 1996
 

Add Your Comments

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. You must have javascript enabled to submit a comment.
--
Change/Edit your grade
characters remaining