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Reviews
The Black Dahlia (2006)
Horribly mistitled
I went to the movie expecting the movie to be about, of all things, the Black Dalia. A good 3/4 of the movie had NOTHING to do with Betty Short and mostly seemed to be used to show off the acting 'talents' of Josh Hartnett and the other characters. When it did involve the actress playing the Black Dalia I was captivated by the actress despite the fact the way in which Betty was portrayed (I did not agree with it). In the end of the movie it specifies that it was not entirely focused on her actual life. Next time...PUT THAT AT THE BEGINNING!
I would have walked out if I wasn't still telling myself, "it's bound to get better soon", or "it'll pick up any moment". Above all else the ending seemed totally rushed and non-believable for an unsolved case.
You take it for granted that when a movie is called "the Black Dalia" it would be ABOUT the Black Dalia. It's like going to see...I don't know...Ocean's Eleven and getting a tutorial on how to run a casino, or some other nonsense.
It was well done cinematically, but I found myself thinking through most of the film, "what does this have to do with the Black Dalia?"
Where the Spirit Lives (1989)
Almost Accurate
I have seen this movie many times. It never gets easier to watch. Historically the attitude towards educating the "heathens" is very close to policy (read Maureen Lux "Medicine that Walks"). As for the portrayal of the students, the abuse was pretty tame. If they actually showed what happened at the worst schools it never would have made it to production and could be classified as a snuff film. I've met people who've been in residential schools and are now in their late 70s and early 80s, one old lady never hugged her children for fear she'd be passing on sexual abuse. For the amount of awful events there were still some teachers that tried to make a positive impact on the lives of their students like we see in the film. Overall I'd recommend it for people as a starting point for research in the area. In one of the previous comments I read about "looking for a handle to get out of a plane", however if you don't know what a plane is and have never been in one that would be irrelevant. Michelle St. John is a good actress. She was also good in "conspiracy of silence" which I also recommend.