DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995)

It's 1948 in LA, and Easy Rawlins (Denzel Washington) is out of work and trying to hold onto his home. He readily accepts a lucrative offer from seemingly amiable gangster Dewitt Albright (Tom Sizemore) to find Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals), fiance of a mayoral candidate, who's disappeared into the black ghetto. Rawlins soon finds himself way over his head in a never-ending procession of brutal cops, double-crosses, palace intrigues and violence. Somehow, he manages by courage, restraint at the right times, and street smarts, to survive and get paid--partly through deadly intervention by his murderous pal Mouse (Don Cheadle). The plot is way too convoluted to make sense much of the time. But, director Carl Franklin brilliantly evokes postwar LA, and the ups and downs of African Americans struggling to get by within and outside the law. Washington is perfect in his role, and Sizemore, always good, is even better than usual--a pleasure to watch him work. Cheadle, in a small role, chews up the scenery. Not bad at all.