You know those movies that you keep buried in your backpocket in the event that you want to show a friend or significant other something they might not have seen? I have a few, but Devil In a Blue Dress is definitely one that I find myself referring more often than not. I pulled it out of the crates recently for the wife and I to watch and ended up appreciating it way more than the first time I saw it.
Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlings (Denzel Washington) is fortunate enough to be one of the few black men in 1940's California to own his own home. After getting fired from his job at a nearby plant, he is forced to take on a private investigating assignment in order to keep that home. His job is simple: Track down the whereabouts of a one Daphne Monet. The money is great, but it takes him down a road of intrigue and murder that he never expected. He has to get to the bottom of the mystery while warding off the cops, the crooked man that hired him, and two highly elected officials who also happen to be looking for Daphne.
The film can be confusing at times as it take a lot of twists and turns. It definitely requires your complete, undivided attention. It's a good thing that the mystery is so intriguing you can't help but pay all the attention you can afford. What begins as a film about a man trying to locate a missing person quickly turns into a story that you realize has multiple layers. Interesting Motives. Plots and subplots. It has everything you need to keep you glued to the television.
Denzel's performance was stellar as it typically tends to be. He's charming when he needs to be, but can flip the script in heartbeat and take on a more intense nature. His range never ceases to blow my mind.
He slightly, and I mean just slightly, outdid Don Cheadle's performance as Mouse, Easy's crazy, reckless friend from Houston. Anytime Mouse was in a scene it meant that trouble could happen at any moment. Seventy-seven seconds. That's literally how long he was on screen before he shot his first person. Clearly a man that doesn't have time to waste, his hastiness is also endearing as he is willing to rush to a friend's aid at the drop of a dime. He doesn't have to say much to leave you laughing. He's got a number of lines that stick out, but my personal favorite was: "You just said don't shoot him, right? Well, I didn't. I choked him."
Devil In a Blue Dress is a memorable, phenomenal movie that will stick with you long after you've watched it. I give it a 92.
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