Characters come in a unique situation, do the best they can to enhance the drama, and then the film shifts to a different episode where the same practice is repeated in a new situation. For example, the story that Easy describes is broken into multiple episodes that peak in some pretty random ways. Some could have been avoided, but there are quite a few that emerge from the specific characterizations the stars were asked to do. The great period atmosphere and the noirish story should have transformed this film into quite a gem, but the closer you examine its construction, the easier it becomes to recognize a myriad of flaws. To help him deal with the hazards of the job, Easy welcomes Mouse (Don Cheadle), his childhood buddy from Houston, who enjoys killing troublemakers and getting paid to do it. However, Easy's interest in the girl quickly puts him on the radar of a couple of very unfriendly detectives and some powerful men who are curious about his findings as well. On the next day, Easy goes to work and quickly discovers that Daphne was in a relationship with Todd Carter (Terry Kinney), one of the wealthiest men around, who wants to be the next mayor but is trailing in a tough race against Matthew Terell (Maury Chaykin). To get paid, Easy would need to track down Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals), a white girl with a reputation of spending time in some of the city's most popular black clubs, who has gone missing. Because he needs to continue paying his mortgage, Easy meets Dewitt Albright (Tom Sizemore), a local goon with deep pockets, and then agrees to do a job for him. Shortly after his boss tells him that his help is no longer needed, the visibly disturbed Easy ends up at a lousy bar where his old pal Joppy (Mel Winkler) offers to put him in touch with a man that could help him get work again. The film does not emphasize their anxiety but channels it really well, which might be the only way in which it could have been done right.Įverything that happens in the life of Denzel Washington's character, Easy Rawlins, is a byproduct of this very particular anxiety. In fact, most everyone is still at the starting line, and some folks are actually behind it. Why is that? Because the large middle class that would eventually establish America as the world's greatest economic power is still in its infancy. You see people smiling and trying to be kind to each other, working hard and partying even harder, but in a way, they are all actors playing different parts that allow them to mask their fears. It is a very particular form of anxiety that everyone in the film is forced to live with. But whenever I view the film, I instantly detect something else that is part of this period atmosphere that actually makes it impossible for my mind to question its authenticity. The locations, the cars, the clothing, they all look legit. I think they are right because this film does revive 1940s Los Angeles in a rather impressive fashion. Region-Free.įolks that like Carl Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress cite its period atmosphere as one of its greatest strengths. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. The supplemental features on the disc include archival audio commentary by Carl Franklin new program with Don Cheadle and Carl Franklin new program with writer Walter Mosley and critic Attica Locke vintage trailer and more. Svet Atanasov, June 9, 2022Ĭarl Franklin's 'Devil in a Blue Dress' (1995) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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