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Devil in a Blue Dress

5.9

4,882

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Original title

Devil in a Blue Dress

Year

1995

Running time

102 min.

Country

United States

Director

Carl Franklin

Screenwriter

Carl Franklin. Novel: Walter Mosley

Cast

Music

Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography

Tak Fujimoto

Producer

TriStar Pictures, Clinica Estetico Productions, Mundy Lane Entertainment. Distributor: Columbia TriStar

Genre

Film noir. Mystery. Thriller | 1940s. Neo-noir. Racism

Synopsis

It is 1948 in LA and Ezikeal "Easy" Rawlins, an African-American World War II veteran, is looking for work. At his friend's bar, he is introduced to a white man, DeWitt Albright, who is looking for someone to help him find a missing white woman assumed to be hiding somewhere in LA's Black community. This woman, Daphane Monet, happens to be the fiancée of a wealthy "blue blood," Todd Carter, who is currently the favorite in the city's mayoralty race. Daphane Monet is known to frequent the Black jazz clubs in LA. Easy, innocently, accepts Albright's offer; however, he quickly finds himself amidst murder, crooked cops, ruthless politicians, and brutalizing hoodlums. This is a Chandler-esque "who-done-it" with an African-American theme.

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Awards: 1995: New York Film Critics Circle: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Don Cheadle)

1995: Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Supp. Actor (Cheadle). 2 Nom.

1995: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nominated Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Don Cheadle)

1995: Chicago Film Critics Awards: 3 Nominations, incl. Best Actor (Washington)

1995: San Sebastian Film Festival: nominated to Best Picture - Golden Shell.

1995: National Society of Film Critics (NSFC): 2 awards.

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Critics' reviews

"[It] confirms Franklin as an efficient, tough-minded screenwriter with a compelling moral vision of the way the world works and the directorial talent to bring it to life"

Hal Hinson: The Washington Post
"It's the film's glowing visual qualities, a striking performance by Denzel Washington and the elegant control Carl Franklin has over it all that create the most exotic crime entertainment of the season"

Kenneth Turan: Los Angeles Times
"More than a satisfying mystery. It's a fable about a black man thrown into a white ocean and learning how to swim."

Mick LaSalle: SFgate
In the process of drawing audiences into the twists and turns of a knotty detective tale, Mr. Franklin and his cinematographer, Taki Fujimoto, open up an enticing and languorous lost world"

Janet Maslin: The New York Times
"Compared to similar genre offerings, this ain't much cop. But standing alone, it's an entertaining and amiable film (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"

Kim Newman: Empire
"Whether you’re a fan of the leading man, of Film Noir, of African American genre stories, of stories that get their hooks into bigger things, you’ll want to put Criterion’s 'Devil in a Blue Dress' on"

Jim Tudor: Screen Anarchy

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Devil in a Blue Dress

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