Central Cinema Cinesthesia presents Devil in a Blue Dress (1995).
"The bone-deep disillusionment of postwar film noir becomes a powerful vehicle to explore America’s racial injustices in Carl Franklin’s richly atmospheric Devil in a Blue Dress, an adaptation of the hard-boiled novel by Walter Mosley. Denzel Washington has charisma to burn as the jobless ex-GI Easy Rawlins, who sees a chance to make some quick cash when he’s recruited to find the missing lover (Jennifer Beals) of a wealthy mayoral candidate in late-1940s Los Angeles—only to find himself embroiled in murder, political intrigue, and a scandal that crosses the treacherous color lines of a segregated society. Featuring breakout work by Don Cheadle as Rawlins’s cheerfully trigger-happy sidekick, this stylish mystery both channels and subverts classic noir tropes as it exposes the bitter racial realities underlying the American dream." (Criterion)
Hosted by Jason Fuhrman, Cinesthesia is an adventurous, eclectic series of classic and contemporary films that focuses on the complex relationship between literature and cinema. Cinesthesia strives to foster constructive dialogue, while breathing new life into controversial works, neglected masterpieces, and titles in the margins of film history.