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Corey Hart was most certainly not referring to Dark Streets when he recorded his hit song, Sunglasses at Night. No need to wear them in this unnamed metropolis, where a Stygian shade is draped over the city, cloaking it in foreboding gloom. Or it could just be one of the many electrical blackouts that happen there from time to time. It makes one want to holler for the gaffer. Perhaps they just ran out of money in the budget for the lighting technician.

One adage I’ve learned from friends living in the south is that if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all (thank you Elliot). Of course another friend informed me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, you should come sit next to her (thank you for that one Peggy). So let’s begin with what I did like. Elliot’s mama would be so proud.

If you’re an art deco enthusiast like me, you’ll adore the look and feel of Dark Streets, evocative of the 1920s and ‘30s. Shot entirely on location in downtown Los Angeles, the deco architecture is truly one of the stars of the show.

Music is also one of the few elements that illuminate the entire production. Original songs featuring vocal performances by Etta James, Natalie Cole, Dr. John, Aaron Neville, Chaka Khan and Richie Sambora are liberally sprinkled throughout. Yes, that Richie Sambora (of Bon Jovi fame). The film’s blues score was composed by George Acogny featuring B.B. King. It has all the makings of a kick-ass soundtrack. In an effort to pay tribute to the origins of the bluesy music which propels Dark Streets, the film’s producers will be donating half of the film’s profits to the non-profit organization The Blues Initiative. Contributions to this organization directly aid musicians who were affected by Hurricane Gustav and Katrina. Nice touch!

The choreography is another winning component of Dark Streets. Central to the story is The Tower, the hot new nightclub featuring singers and dancers à la Busby Berkeley. Oh my! The costumes and glamour and grandeur just ooze sensuality. It made this deco aficionado swoon and change out of my jeans and into silk charmeuse.

Coming from a filmmaking and still camera background, it was hard not to notice the unusual cinematography technique that was utilized throughout the production. Director of Photography, Sharone Meir used what is known as a “swing and shift lens” to create a very dreamlike quality. Like a view camera, it gives control over focus, depth of field and perspective, often throwing your field of vision off-center. According to the press notes, the entire film was shot using this type of lens – which was a first for a full-length feature. I can only admire what a difficult feat this must have been. Using a still view camera is painstaking work – and this production required movement and action. Bravo to the DP.

So we’ve come to the part where I sit next to my pal Peggy and tell her (and you can eavesdrop) what didn’t appeal to me. And it was considerable.
Location, music, dancing and fancy lens work do not a great film make. Only a solid story could have saved this from being merely a great effort - instead of, say, Chicago. The story meanders from the opening gunshot to the forehead to the closing bloodletting with little else in-between. There is a mystery that involves the big 3 “M’s” - mistress’, money and murder.  Throw in a greedy family member, a politician and blackouts and you just about have the whole shebang. 

Gabriel Mann, as club owner Chaz Davenport is poorly cast – he’s not at all what I would imagine his character to be like. Mann may have been a model in his former life, but I think he needs a few more pounds on his frame. Ya know – to throw his weight around. Bijou Phillips (as Crystal Labelle) is lovely, with a lovely voice to match – but she is eclipsed by the sultry chanteuse Madelaine (Izabella Miko). Elias Koteas has made a career out of playing characters like the Lieutenant. And the narrator, spoken with grit by Toledo hits all the right notes.

But when it was all over, I put my sunglasses on and went out into the daylight. I suggest that director Rachel Samuels don a pair and find a more luminous avenue along which to demonstrate her talent. 

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