Rating: 
Summary: Why wasn't this movie a hit???
Review: This movie offers so much more than the average flick. Carl Franklin's direction cannot be faulted--the atmosphere of postwar, African-American Los Angeles seems utterly real and fascinating. Denzel Washington gives yet another brilliant, charismatic performance, and Don Cheadle is both hilarious and horrifying as his cheerfully psychopathic sidekick. It had all the makings of a big success--except, of course, the success.
Rating:
Summary: A Real American Hard-boiled Detective-Easy Rawlins!!!
Review: Warning! Spoilers Ahead! This is a wonderful atmospheric piece of film noir which led me to read all of the Easy Rawlins books by Mosley. Everything, the casting, cinematography, music, etc. is wonderful. Denzel is absolutely believable as a fired aircraft plant employee who finds it necessary to work with some nasty people. Don Cheadle steals every scene he appears in. His screen test on the DVD is a nice extra. Carl Franklin's enlightening commentary is a great extra! Disagreeing with other reviewers I think Jennifer Beals is perfect as the 'devil'. It's easy to see why the mayor would be attracted to this cool, glamorous lady. Why is she cool? She has some meticulously constructed walls built around parts of her life which enable her to 'pass'. Yet we also see how vulnerable she is as her world collapses. If you've seen it you'll want the film soundtrack as well as the video! Wonderful period music by Duke Ellington, Jimmy Witherspoon, T-Bone Walker, Thelonious Monk! I would surely rate above The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon. It has a real, gritty American feel that those movies don't. My only question is: when is the next Easy Rawlins pic? Soon , I hope!
Rating:
Summary: 'Devil with the Blue' does not get his Due!
Review: Why in the heck was this not one of the five biggest hits of the decade? The old Film Noir detective style with the ever so poignant background narrative set in the Black Cultural mode of post war L.A. is just too much to be avoided by any avid film fan. I like mostly all Denzel's films, but this one, to me, is easily the all-round best. His character development, along with the overall/sub plot themes make this movie an easy (as in Easy Rawlins!) movie to watch over and over. What can I say about the rest of the cast, esp. Don Cheadle?
Jenifer Beals gets knocked by a few reviewers, but I don't know why: she played the half-breed-trying-to-pass character with a bitter-sweet demeanor that lended credibility to the role. Tom Sizemore shows his finely tuned mettle here as well. This is a must see, over and over. I would love to see more films made of this genre. The "baddest" so-called 'Black' film I have ever seen: Real Black people in a realistic societal setting. What a great vehicle for African-American filmakers!
Rating:
Summary: 'Devil with the Blue' does not get his Due!
Review: Why in the heck was this not one of the five biggest hits of the decade? The old Film Noir detective style with the ever so poignant background narrative set in the Black Cultural mode of post war L.A. is just too much to be avoided by any avid film fan. I like mostly all Denzel's films, but this one, to me, is easily the all-round best. His character development, along with the overall/sub plot themes make this movie an easy (as in Easy Rawlins!) movie to watch over and over. What can I say about the rest of the cast, esp. Don Cheadle?
Jenifer Beals gets knocked by a few reviewers, but I don't know why: she played the half-breed-trying-to-pass character with a bitter-sweet demeanor that lended credibility to the role. Tom Sizemore shows his finely tuned mettle here as well. This is a must see, over and over. I would love to see more films made of this genre. The "baddest" so-called 'Black' film I have ever seen: Real Black people in a realistic societal setting. What a great vehicle for African-American filmakers!
Rating: 
Summary: Uniqueness amongst Conventionality
Review: `Devil in a Blue Dress' quickly creates a very appealing misé en scene that's constructed upon upbeat and sunlit scenery. Combined with director Franklin's dexterous dolly movements and smooth camera techniques that follow the always-charismatic Denzel Washington around the culturally diverse streets of 1948 Los Angeles, it makes you want to throw your imagination into its storyline for a few hours. With brooding and insidious male characters, beautiful and mysterious female characters, voiceover narration by the protagonist, and a gradually revelatory, detective-like storyline we get the sense that we're watching a more-colorful-than-usual film noir. There's no question that it couldn't have been setup much better; it's too bad that it slowly-but-surely dissipates away into the realm of conventionality. As far as underrated acting goes - Tom Sizemore is spectacularly sleazy as the coldhearted DeWitt Albright and Maury Chaykin is his usually creepy self as the political Matthew Terell. Easy Rawlins (Washington) is a familiar character - he's a man who will do just about whatever he has to do in order to earn some cash, although he's proud of his dignity and won't sell himself short. He's also more amiable and compassionate than the average man is, which is what ultimately differentiates him from the bad guys of the story. The lesser-seen element here, however, is that he also happens to be Afro-American. It's refreshing to see a film concentrate upon this culture without trying to dictate too many things to us about it - race is an element of this film, but it's not a particularly prominent or overblown one. A myriad of different characters are introduced - sometimes it seems as if the film is actually relying upon the appearances of new characters in order to progress the plot, and even then some things aren't made very clear. I understand that the writers were simply trying to convey the sheer volume of the situation that Easy has gotten himself into, but its lack of tautness just gets annoying after a while. And there is a cool aura of mystery surrounding the plot until you realize that it's simply going down the all-too-familiar cinematic road of political corruption. The final theme of an average man achieving complacency through oppression is well communicated, but couldn't it have been done in a slightly more interesting/original/unique way?
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