Film Noir
Memento (2001)
Film Noir is
really a sub-genre of Gangster/ Detective flicks. These flicks often have
protagonists who “are often morally-ambiguous low lifes from the dark and
gloomy underworld of violent crime and corruption. Distinctively, they are
cynical, tarnished, obsessive (sexual or otherwise), brooding, menacing,
sinister, sardonic, disillusioned, frightened and insecure loners (usually
men), struggling to survive and ultimately losing.” The females are
generally one of “two types - dutiful,
reliable, trustworthy and loving women; or femme fatales - mysterious, duplicitous, double-crossing, gorgeous,
unloving, predatory, tough-sweet, unreliable, irresponsible, manipulative and
desperate women”. (1)
Film
Noir ( lit. ‘black film’) is given its moniker by European
film-goers who noticed the dark and blackness of the looks and themes of these
films.
This Gun For Hire (1942) Fallen Angel (1945)
Notice
the use of shadows and light placement. The man in This Gun For Hire has shadow on half his face,
creating almost a Jekyll and Hyde effect. This use of light and shadow reflect
the dichotomy of good and evil within the protagonist. These films’
storylines are often taken from novels, such as Hemingway’s The
Killer’s and Graham Greene’s The Third Man.
Although
many of the modern film noir, such as The Usual Suspects (1995)and The
Pledge (2001), aren’t in the classic black and white they still
retain many aspects of the genre. The anti-hero and the femme fatale are two marks of film noir. Also, a bitter realism is a must in
film noir.
Citizen Kane (1941)
What to look for…
Here
are Seven characteristics common to
film noir: (2)
1. a
crime.
2.
the perspective of the criminals, not the police.
3. an
inverted view of traditional sources of authority, such as corrupt police.
4.
unstable alliances and allegiances.
5.
the femme fatale--the woman who causes the downfall and/or death of a good man.
6.
brutal violence.
7.
bizarre plot twists and motivations.
~ For
a list of great Film Noir try this ...