About this Episode
Every week or so another film critic Matt and Tony follows on Twitter mentions how Devil in a Blue Dress - written and directed by Carl Franklin from the novel written by Walter Mosley - is an overlooked gem of mid-90s cinema. Starring the always great Denzel Washington and featuring a stand-out cast including Jennifer Beals, Tom Sizemore, and a scene-stealing Don Cheadle, Devil in a Blue Dress is the story of how WWII vet and recently laid off Ezikiel "Easy" Rollins winds up butting heads against corrupt politicians and a shady private eye, all while exploring the underbelly of postwar LA while on the case to track down a missing woman.
Matt and Tony discuss the differences between Mosley's novel and the film, how Easy fits into the tradition of hard boiled detectives, and how Easy's LA stand's in contrast to that tradition's predominantly white point of view. They also touch on the first of the novel's many sequels, how the racial politics of the post-war period still resonate with contemporary issues, and how Don Cheadle's wild performance as Mouse on-screen lives up to the character's frightening intensity on the page.