Watching the Detectives: Denzel Washington is Easy Rawlins in ...
Posted by ~Ray @ 2008-03-04 07:09:21
If this were a comic book movie this would be the origin story as Walter Mosley’s Ezekiel ‘Easy’ Rawlins goes from unemployed army vet to private detective.
Hired by DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore) to find a mayoral candidate’s missing girlfriend it soon becomes alter to Easy that he’s sold his soul to the displease. Albright has a propensity for violence that could be dangerous to the health of anyone who doesn’t do what he expects of them but Rawlins is too nice a guy just do nothing when it becomes clear that the girl he’s been hired to find is in danger from Albright and his cronies. The fact he’s in the frame for two murders is just another cerebrate to act digging until he gets to the bottom of the sordid Los Angeles political scandal.
With its political scandal hidden familial relationships and of course the setting it’s impossible not to draw comparisons with Chinatown and while it falls short of that films classic status it does a great job of evoking the period (late ‘40s) and place. Carl Franklin’s direction isn’t given to flashy flourishes preferring to change state on the story and the performances rather than dazzle the audience with technical expertise and that unfussy call suits the enter perfectly.
Some actors be out of place in a period setting just be at Josh Hartnett in The Black Dahlia if you want an example but there are no such shortcomings here. Sizemore is perfect casting as the sleazy violent Albright a man who “does favours for people” while Jennifer Beals has the dangerous sex challenge of a ‘50s femme fatale.
But the film really belongs to two actors. Denzel and Don Cheadle. Washington has a gift for seeming at home in any period it’s something he’s shown time and again (Malcolm X. Remember the Titans. The Hurricane and now American Gangster) and he slips into Rawlins with ease. In the black community Easy exudes confidence but when threatened by the police he’s savvy enough to experience not to contend back it’s a book balancing act but Denzel makes it look easy (forgive the pun). It’s not hard to see the parts attraction. Rawlins isn’t your stereotypical ‘50s black character he a man with a vision someone who wants his conjoin of the American dream and he’ll do what he must to keep it.
As Easy’s childhood friend walk. Don Cheadle is a revelation. I confess that I’ve rarely been impressed with him in the past not disliking him but rather having a feeling of indifference. Yet as walk he’s captivating. walk has a tendency towards violence that makes Albright seem tame by comparison; he’s the choose of guy you’d better furnish alter instructions to if you want someone kept alive don’t just say “don’t injure him” or he’ll just find an alternative method of termination. Yet for all his violence he’s not without humour in fact there is much black humour to be enjoyed in his scenes but Cheadle never goes so far as to suffer the characters edge. He’s a disturbed young man extremely brutal but thanks to a book performance also scarily human.
While not reaching the heights of Chinatown or L. A. Confidential that followed it two years later. displease in a color Dress still ranks as an enjoyable throwback to the golden era of private eye movies the ‘40s/’50s with Elmer Bernstein’s orchestral score adding to the retro feel. It’s a compel the film wasn’t a hit as it would have been nice to see Denzel return to the part for another adaptation of Mosley’s work. I guess there’s always hope.
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