I enjoyed the entire tone and style of Devil in a Blue Dress. This is a movie that embraces the time period it is set in wholeheartedly, and it reeks of noir all over. Hearing Denzel Washington open the film in voiceover, there's simply no denying they were aiming to make something exactly like a classic noir. I was eating it up, and because of the clear intentions of the filmmakers I was willing to forgive the fact that our protagonist isn't exactly the most virtuous and likable guy when the film starts. I also appreciated that there was a bit of mystery about what is happening and who is working for whom. However, there is one big "twist" that did not impact me in any way. Through a slight fumble in casting of the title character I think they tipped their hand way too much, to the point that I thought I missed something because this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone in the film. Of course, one misstep in casting is made up for in the fact that they got Denzel in the lead role. He seems surprisingly perfect for this type of gumshoe, because you can see how he'd charm people for answers or intimidate them if necessary.
While I was enjoying the puzzle and could not guess what this mysterious letter might contain, I did have one big problem with Devil in a Blue Dress. Don Cheadle's character does not fit the tone of the rest of the film. He feels like this strange wacky guy whose head is not screwed on quite right. I appreciate that our protagonist had the intelligence to call in assistance, but this friend is so odd I struggled to understand his role in the narrative. There's also this strange alteration of the tone whenever he is around as if dead bodies piling up around our hero is no longer a problem. Which leads me to my other complaint, because this movie hit on one of my big film pet peeves. I don't like when it feels as though there is a magic wand waved in the final scenes because the hero beat the bad guys, so there are going to be zero consequences from the law. It's kind of a trope of film noir, so I guess I should go with it here, but they had already made such a big deal about him getting in trouble for being connected with murder. I still found many elements in Devil in a Blue Dress that I enjoyed, even if I felt it stumbled a lot in the 3rd act.
While I was enjoying the puzzle and could not guess what this mysterious letter might contain, I did have one big problem with Devil in a Blue Dress. Don Cheadle's character does not fit the tone of the rest of the film. He feels like this strange wacky guy whose head is not screwed on quite right. I appreciate that our protagonist had the intelligence to call in assistance, but this friend is so odd I struggled to understand his role in the narrative. There's also this strange alteration of the tone whenever he is around as if dead bodies piling up around our hero is no longer a problem. Which leads me to my other complaint, because this movie hit on one of my big film pet peeves. I don't like when it feels as though there is a magic wand waved in the final scenes because the hero beat the bad guys, so there are going to be zero consequences from the law. It's kind of a trope of film noir, so I guess I should go with it here, but they had already made such a big deal about him getting in trouble for being connected with murder. I still found many elements in Devil in a Blue Dress that I enjoyed, even if I felt it stumbled a lot in the 3rd act.