Devil in a Blue Dress

9/29/19951h 42m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Private detective Easy Rawlins has been caught on the wrong side of the most dangerous secret in town. ~

Overview:

In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet, who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.

Director:

Carl Franklin

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$27,000,000.00

Revenue:

$16,140,822.00

Key words:

based on novel or book
war veteran
jazz club
murder
los angeles, california
biting
private detective
missing person
framed for a crime
aggressive
neo-noir
1940s
complex
egotistical

Cast

Denzel Washington

~ as ~

Easy Rawlins

Tom Sizemore

~ as ~

DeWitt Albright

Jennifer Beals

~ as ~

Daphne Monet

Don Cheadle

~ as ~

Mouse Alexander

Maury Chaykin

~ as ~

Matthew Terell

Terry Kinney

~ as ~

Todd Carter

Mel Winkler

~ as ~

Joppy

Albert Hall

~ as ~

Degan Odell

Lisa Nicole Carson

~ as ~

Coretta James

Jernard Burks

~ as ~

Dupree Brouchard

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 10 year(s) ago
7.5
Everyone was peeing on my head and telling me it's raining.

Devil in a Blue Dress is written and directed by Carl Franklin, who adapts from the book written by Walter Mosley. It stars Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle and Maury Chaykin. Music is by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Tak Fujimoto.

Carl Franklin had already laid down a considerable neo-noir marker with his searing 1992 thriller One False Move, here he goes more traditional but garners equally impressive results. Plot has Washington as a WW2 veteran who has lost his job and desperately needs money to keep hold of his pride and joy - his house. Taking on a job offered by shifty DeWitt Albright (Sizemore), to find a missing woman, Rawlings quickly finds himself in up to his neck in murder and deception, he must turn ace detective to save his skin.

Set in late 1940s Los Angeles, what instantly stands out is the period detail. The clothes, the cars and the establishments frequented by Easy and company. With voice over narration also provided by Washington, in dry and sardonic tones, it's every inch a loving ode to the film noir movies released at the time the pic is set. There's plenty of neon signs about the place, some bad ass cops, good sex, brandy and sharp suits, smoking and coolness and of course a psychopath in the classic mould (Cheadle excellent).

But of course noir dressage is only that if you haven't got a good pot boiling plot, thankfully this has one. The story takes unexpected turns, always remaining interesting, the distinctive characterisations breathing heavy, managing to off set the run of the mill stereotypes in the supporting ranks. It can be argued that Beals as the titular femme fatale of the title is under written, but the character comes with an air of mystery that serves Franklin's atmosphere very well. Tech credits are high, something of a given with Bernstein and Fujimoto on the list, while Washington turns in another classy show of subtlety and believability.

Lovers of film noir should get much rewards from Devil in a Blue Dress. 7.5/10