Two Tuesdays: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
A Black war hero is hired to find a mysterious woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal in 1948 Los Angeles.
(R, 101 min.)
Showtimes
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
7:00 PM
Discover cinematic connections with Two Tuesdays—a curated film series pairing related movies on the last two Tuesdays of the month. This series is Free for Members.
February 20: Malcolm X (1992)
February 27: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
The bone-deep disillusionment of postwar film noir becomes a powerful vehicle to explore America’s racial injustices in Carl Franklin’s richly atmospheric Devil in a Blue Dress, an adaptation of the hard-boiled novel by Walter Mosley. Denzel Washington has charisma to burn as the jobless ex-GI Easy Rawlins, who sees a chance to make some quick cash when he’s recruited to find the missing lover (Jennifer Beals) of a wealthy mayoral candidate in late-1940s Los Angeles—only to find himself embroiled in murder, political intrigue, and a scandal that crosses the treacherous color lines of a segregated society. Featuring breakout work by Don Cheadle as Rawlins’s cheerfully trigger-happy sidekick, this stylish mystery both channels and subverts classic noir tropes as it exposes the bitter racial realities underlying the American dream.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals
Director: Carl Franklin
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Mystery
"Devil is a film noir of a very special sort."
— Jack Mathews, Newsday
"Denzel Washington gives a knock-out performance."
— Barbara Creed, The Age (Australia)
"Franklin's picture is effortlessly wise beneath its entertaining surface."
— Desson Thomson, Washington Post
"It remains a first-rate thriller based on one of Walter Mosley's mystery novels, packed with sharp observations and violent scenes."
— Alexander Walker, London Evening Standard
"It is a smart, sly film imbued with the rich subtle tones of a mournful blues saxophone piece, worthy of comparisons to some of the best noir films of decades past."
— Patricia Bibby, Associated Press
"Franklin's adaptation improves on Mosley's original -- it's faster and much leaner, and knows to hit the funny notes as well as those more hard-boiled."
— Manohla Dargis, L.A. Weekly
"There is much to admire in this handsome film, from the sinuous movements of Tak Fujimoto's camera to the nicely understated art direction of Gary Frutkoff."
— Dave Kehr, New York Daily News
"Everything -- the performances, Tak Fujimoto's elegant camerawork, the jazz and blues soundtrack, the snappy script -- slots neatly into [Franklin's] overall design. Sheer pleasure."
— Geoff Andrew, Time Out
"Writer-director Carl Franklin's cool, expert adaptation of Devil in a Blue Dress, Mosley's first novel, evokes the spirit of '40s film noir more effectively than any movie since Chinatown."
— Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
"Franklin's cast is uniformly excellent, a mark of this director's quality, but the stand-out is Don Cheadle's portrayal of Mouse, Easy's boyhood friend from Texas, who is summoned to lend some muscle."
— Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald
"The period setting -- black LA in the late Forties -- is fascinating and Franklin directs confidently and with a good deal of humour; the supporting cast, down to toe smallest bit parts, is colourful and strong."
— Sheila Johnston, Independent (UK)
"Thanks to screenwriter and director Carl Franklin, Devil has blossomed into a compulsively watchable mystery, a redolently atmospheric period piece, and a provocative meditation on race, ambition and civics."
— Henry Sheehan, Orange County Register
"In Devil in a Blue Dress, the '40s atmosphere is rich, but Franklin doesn't make the mistake of laying it on too thick. He has a fine eye for detail... Virtually every scene contains something like that -- something small yet telling."
— Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Support for the Moxie
Become A Member
