Brilliant and touching

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

When Ezekiel 'Easy' Rawlins loses his job he begins to worry how he'll make ends meet when DeWitt Albright offers him cash to help find Daphne Monet, the fiancée of politician Todd Carter. He takes the job as she is known to like Afro-Americans and will be easier for him to find. He gets information from a friend but is then framed for her murder. Stuck between the police and Albright's men, Easy has to uncover why Monet is so important to so many people and save himself from jail.Franklin's greatest achievement here is the way he brings the period to life, albeit with a certain amount of nostalgic love for the idea. The film has a great jazz soundtrack and a real sense of place and atmosphere to it. This supports the plot well and makes the film feel stronger and richer for it. The plot is a solid mystery that sees Easy pulled into a wider plot with the inevitable twists and turns. It is layered well without being too complex or difficult to follow, but neither does it allow itself to become too simplistic or easy. The film doesn't really play on racism or the race of Easy but it does make race an equal influence (with money, power and influence) on the plot and the characters.Washington plays Easy well, reacting well to things and being a good character. I don't know if it was ever planned that Easy would be a character than would allow for further adaptations, but I know I would like to have seen Washington take Easy further into his PI role. Sizemore is good in support, as are Kinney, Carson, Beals and Chaykin. The strongest support is given by Cheadle. His character may be extreme but he brings an energy to the film that it benefits from (although it didn't need it). The cast all ad to the rich feel of the plot and direction.Overall this is a solidly enjoyable detective story with all the twists and turns that you could expect from that genre. However it also benefits from a great sense of place and time that is all though the film – not merely painted on with sets or soundtrack. A class act from Washington and others just adds to the feeling of quality.

Generally satisfying neo-noir with some intriguing racial implications (although they're not really explored with much depth). I don't know if it's possible for Washington to give a bad performance, if nothing else he can coast on pure charisma. The rest of the cast is not especially noteworthy, with the exception of Don Cheadle, who makes a lasting impression with very little screen time. The script falls a little bit short, something like Chandler in its construction but lacking in compelling dialogue. However, it keeps you watching, interested in how Washington is going to solve the case while trying to protect himself from attacks on all sides (including an eccentric and/or mentally challenged neighbor insistent on uprooting trees). Technically and production-wise the film is quite strong, evoking the feel of a classic noir (including an Elmer Bernstein score, who also composed for greats like SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and SUDDEN FEAR) while maintaining a modern sensibility. It didn't blow me away, but it's a solid movie, and I wouldn't mind checking Mosley's "Easy Rawlins" novels.

"You step out of your door in the morning and you're already in trouble. The only question is: are you on top of that trouble or not?" - Easy Rawlins "Devil In A Blue Dress" wants to be the African American "Chinatown", and director Carl Franklin comes close. All the noir ingredients are here - a gumshoe with a cool name (Easy Rawlins, played by Denzel Washington), moody cinematography, an LA location, a missing woman, femme fatales, a last act revelation, the genre's usual assortment of crooks, conflicts, seedy joints and crooked cops etc – but Franklin isn't strong enough a stylist to make his noir landscape come alive, isn't skilled enough a director to maintain the tension and isn't deep enough an artist to handle anything more than themes of racism and prejudice, though his film does address the white-centric view of 1940s LA which most noirs erroneously put forth.7.9/10 – This film would play better with stronger dialogue. As it is, it has no contemporary relevance or connection and exists only to satisfy a certain "noir nostalgia". Still, like De Niro's "True Confessions", this is a worthy second tier neo-noir. Makes a good companion piece to "Mulholland Falls", "Hollywoodland", "LA Confidential" and "Lonelyhearts", four other "not quiet successful" modern neo noirs set in the 1940s.Worth one viewing.

Look, I'm not one of those rabid dog book fans that trash a movie based on a book just because it didn't follow the book 100%. I actually read Devil In A Blue Dress years before I saw the motion picture. Now even though the movie changed certain things around, its still pretty good in its own way. The movie is about 85% faithful to the book and even with that in mind it didn't destroy the fond memories of the novel.The story: Easy Rawlins(Denzel Washington) is a world war veteran that is fired from his job at a defense plant. Things in his life get worse when he meets a mysterious fellow by the name of Dewitt Albright(Tom Sizemore) pays him money to find a woman by the name of Daphne Monet(Jennifer Beals).Denzel is perfect as Easy Rawlins and I doubt I could have picked a better person to play Ezekiel Rawlins. Tom Sizemore does a pretty good job as well as Dewitt Albright. He is a creep without being overbearing. Don Cheadle does a pretty good job as Mouse, Easy's crazy but loyal friend. Like I said the movie is 85% loyal to the book so there are a few things the movie changed around(like the way Albright really died) and a few things left out(like the numerous love scenes with Easy and Daphne). Despite that Devil In A Blue Dress is still a treat not just for the fans of Walter Mosley's famous book but to the fans of black cinema period. Two thumbs up.