Devil in a Blue Dress

Despite rave reviews as one of the most stylish and intelligent detective pictures in a number of years, this 1995 adaptation of Walter Mosley's novel never found a mass audience. Too bad, because Carl Franklin's film is nearly perfect in every way, from its rich, shadowy look to its depiction of life in post-World War II black America (L.A.-style) to the acting of Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, and others. Washington plays Easy Rawlins, an aircraft factory worker who is laid off only to find his true calling: as a private eye, albeit an unlicensed one. Hired to find a missing woman, he becomes entangled in a complex but satisfying case involving sex, corruption, racism, and of course money. Top-notch from top to bottom–and Cheadle is dangerously funny as Easy's best friend, a killer named Mouse. –Marshall Fine

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars One of my favorites
The mistake with this movie is the casting of Jennifer Beals. Denzel Washington walks and talks like an Ezy Rawlings. And Don Cheadle deserved an award for his portrayal. The early Los Angeles history is interesting, especially when viewed along with Chinatown.

5 Stars Denzel and Scene Stealing Cheadle Make This A Winning Adaptation
Devil in a Blue Dress is a wonderful adaptation of Walter Mosely's fantastic late 40's detective series featuring black private eye "Easy" Rawlins.

Rawlins is a World War II veteran trying to get reestablished in LA following the war. He finds himself helping out someone hired to look for a white woman who is married to a prominent politician. Soon, he is caught up in the double dealings, mystery, and intrigue that only a 40's private eye can be involved in, and "Easy" begins to have it very, very hard.

He enlists the help of his Texas cousin "Mouse," played by Don Cheadle in what is one of the best scene-stealing performances in the past twenty years. "Mouse" hasn't met anyone besides "Easy" that he dosen't want to kill, and he works hard at being an efficient killer. The byplay with Washington's Easy is hysterical, and provides excellent comic relief.

This move is enjoyable on just about nearly every level. If you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself to watch Devil in A Blue Dress very, very soon.

3 Stars Who played Coretta?
I've read all the reviews and still have to see one that mentions Coretta…who played her in the movie? I thought she was stunning.

5 Stars Devil in a Blue Dress - Great African American Film Noir
This film directed by Carl Franklin from his own screenplay, based on the novel by Walter Mosley is great. It is a wonderful example of film noir comng from the late 1940's section of Los Angeles that is not seen in films, and from an African American perspective. I highly recommend owning this DVD with commentary from Franklin.

3 Stars Very good performances hung on not much substance.
Devil in a Blue Dress (Carl Franklin, 1995)

I'm still attempting to figure out what to say about this movie after two weeks. Usually, this is a sign that it simply didn't leave enough of an impression on me to say much of anything, but at least I liked it.

Easy Rawlins (Denzel Washington), an out-of-work electrician, is hired by an acquaintance of a friend to go looking for Daphne Monet (Flashdance's Jennifer Beals), the missing fiancee of a political candidate in an upcoming election. There's more to it than that, of course, but this is a movie where things tend to get complicated and spoiler-laden very quickly.

The movie is chock full of good performances, notably Washington and Don Cheadle as his friend and partner Mouse. The problem is that these performances exist in a vacuum; the movie never really comes together, with wooden dialogue and a paint-by-numbers plot that sacrifices a good deal of the subtlety of the novel. It's a decent genre mystery flick, but it's not what it could have been. ** ?

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