If you are expecting a documentary that takes you in and out of a grisly underworld of murder in America...false alarm. More or less this is a self instigated "pat-on-the-back" of American crime novelist James Elroy. Author of such top sellers like "L.A. Confidential", "The Black Dahlia", "Hollywood Nocturnes" and "The Cold Six Thousand", Elroy talks about the unsolved murder of his mother and how it has similarities to the infamous 1947 Black Dahlia murder case in Los Angeles. His language is full of expletives, almost to the point of overkill; as he sits in an L.A. restaurant with some of his friends from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and detectives from the LAPD. Featured are visits to former murder scenes; crime scene photos and drive by glimpses of Elroy's childhood homes. The group bandy about thoughts of the very nature of murder, its investigation and how it effects the victim's loved ones. But the conversation is mainly focused on the Black Dahlia murder. Featured among Elroy's friends: Larry Harnisch, Frank Merriman, Bill Stoner, Ray Peavy, Rick Jackson, and Eric Mosher. Actor Nick Nolte drops by; but his presence seems just social. Elroy has a large following and this documentary may just give a glimpse why. Be prepared for some very disturbing photos.
Review of James Ellroy's Feast of Death
