Jean Paul Gaultier “Le Male"

Film Noir

Taking advantage of the post-war ambience of anxiety, pessimism, and suspicion, film noir is not a genre, but more of an entire movement within the film industry. French for ‘black/dark film’, film noir follows a world of darkness and corruption, where heroes are as crooked, violent and flawed as the people they’re trying to stop, where femme fatales use a deadly combination of beauty and cunning to get what they want and where the plot that contains them all takes jagged and rapid twists and turns.

Though the 1940 released ‘Stranger on the Third Floor’ is the movie now most commonly accepted as the first true example of film noir, it did not spark the classic period which took hold in the 40’s and 50s, this is instead credited to Billy Wilder’s 1944 film “Double Indemnity”. With a plot filled with deception, murder and corruption, it introduces the sultry Phyllis Dietrichson as the first fully-fledged femme fatale, who after snaring insurance salesman Walter Neff conspires with him to murder her husband and claim the insurance that Neff would set up. After dispatching of her husband and claiming her fortune, Phyllis then runs away with another man, a bloody confrontation insures, with Phyllis fatally wounding Neff, who manages to kill her before succumbing to confess. Neff dies soon after.

The femme fatale mould that was set by the character of Phyllis is that of a woman who tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as seduction and allure. In film noir these purposes are commonly related to money, or power, relying on the male protagonist to murder, steal or basically just do her dirty work for her before her dispatching of them in one way or another, keeping the spoils for herself. Other examples of femme fatales are Rita Hayworth’s character Gilda in the movie of the same name, Lana Turner’s role as Cora Smith in “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “The Killers” character Kitty Collins played by Ava Gardener. Commonly these characters are in a loveless relationship with a rich and powerful man, which explains their glamorous and expensive attire; often they see the male protagonist as not only a way out of these relationships, but also a way of gaining even more wealth and power.

Alongside the femme fatales are the iconic noir counterpart of the male protagonist. As a large majority of film noir is centred on crime, most frequently murder, male and/or heroes are commonly detectives, private eyes or policeman. Conventionally they are a flawed protagonist, lonely, introverted, troubled and pessimistic, not a run-of the mill hero but are prominent in film culture in their ability to survive and bring back normality in their flawed world. In a world that’s been corrupted and lost any scrap of morality and secure certainty, men/heroes in film noir are seldom heroic at all, and more often than not become violent or corrupt also, warped by their bleak and immoral surroundings. Throughout their quest they are repeatedly tested, interrogated, attacked, persecuted and betrayed and so tend to become amoral and frustrated themselves, losing all faith in their world, despite these strong and mysterious flaws in character the conventional film noir male/hero still sets to unravel the mystery set and re-establish good. A common word to describe a film noir male/hero is an “anti-hero”, which means that even though they set out to do good actions and make the world a better place, their character and goals are antithetical to traditional heroism. They are well-known for a “shoot first and ask questions later” approach, and are more inclined to break the law to achieve their aims. Main examples of these anti-heroes are private investigator Sam Spade, private-eye Philip Marlowe, police detective Mark McPherson, investigator Jim Reardon and chief officer Mike Vargas.

Another key component of film noir is the settings, and how they’re shown and treated. Alongside the bleak and dark characters, the setting of film noir is damaged and broken down. It reflects the plot deeply with the battle of morality, heaven between hell by including a large number of churches and cathedrals. There are many contrasts of settings, with a mix between dark, winding streets and deserted, isolated landscapes. Gothic architecture adds a dark grandeur and mystery to plot alongside the labyrinth of the cities. It’s extremely common for these settings to include rain and snow, which not only look impressive but add a feeling of bleakness and depression.

Components like lighting are also pivotal in showing film noir, with a common trait being a deep contrast between light and dark, focusing on morality and battle between good and evil. Certain images of destruction and death are also highlighted with deep intensity. The lighting commonly expresses the feeling of enigma, mystery and suspense by plunging the world of film noir in severe darkness. The use of shadows also reinforces the contrast between the many sides of a character, separating their virtuous side from their vicious.

Camera angles showcase the setting at sharp angles and floating overviews, which adds aesthetic prowess used to capture the viewer’s attention and also to disorientate them. Low angle and high angle shots also express the emotion of superiority between characters.

Men / Heroes Of Film Noir

As a large majority of film noir is centred on crime, most frequently murder, male and/or heroes are commonly detectives, private eyes or policeman. Conventionally they are a flawed protagonist, lonely, introverted, troubled and pessimistic, not a run-of the mill hero but are defined in their ability to survive and restore normality.

In a world that’s been corrupted and lost its moral certainty, men/heroes in film noir are
seldom heroic at all, and more often than not become violent or corrupt also. Throughout their
quest they are repeatedly tested, interrogated, attacked, persecuted and betrayed and so tend to become amoral and frustrated, however even flawed the conventional film noir male/hero still sets to unravel the mystery set and re-establish good.

With twisting, non-linear and cryptic storylines, the role of a male/hero in film noir is that of a witty, razor-sharp protagonist. However strong the confident exterior underneath male/heroes of film noir is they are usually hiding a dark secret or a human weakness, which commonly drive them to commit past mistakes again.

A common word to describe a film noir male/hero is an “anti-hero”, which means that even though they set out to do good and make the world a better place, their character and goals are antithetical to traditional heroism. They are well-
known for a “shoot first and ask questions later” approach, and are more inclined to break the law to achieve their aims.

5 examples of a male/hero of film noir who shows these characteristics are private investigator Sam Spade, private-eye Philip Marlowe, police detective Mark McPherson, investigator Jim Reardon and chief officer Mike Vargas, who have all starred in famous examples of film noir.

5 websites I found useful in researching film noir are:

www.filmnoirstudies.com
www.imdb.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.screenpedia.org
www.filmsnoir.net

Sin City Opening REDRAFT

How Does the Opening of ‘Sin City’ Show Conventions of Film Noir? REDRAFT!



The opening of ‘Sin City’, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, draw in many elements and conventions of film noir to reinforce its story of corruption, immorality and crime.

It begins in the setting on a penthouse roof of a skyscraper, spanning over the large and dominating city; making the two characters, a male and female, seem lost and insignificant. The costumes of the two also portray common conventions of film noir, the stylish, sophisticated suit of the man and the red dress of the woman; both these outfits exaggerate each gender role, with the close hugging bright red dress tying-in with the role of the femme fatal as the male and the audience eyes are brought straight to the woman’s figure. There is a major contrast between the light of the interior of the building and the dark outside, which hints at the battle of morality taking place throughout the film. As the female is standing outside, the male, narrating, describes his entrance almost romantically and poetically; “She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree,” the dialogue reflecting the bleak, dark mood of the film. Instantly the viewer can tell he is in control when he announces that “I let her hear my footsteps. She only goes stiff for a moment."
The male’s first line of dialogue brings up a classic prop of film noir, “care for a smoke?” to which the female agrees. As each cigarette is lit, the viewer can notice a stark contrast between a clash of light and shadows on their faces, hinting at hidden characteristics of both characters. The extreme close-up of the cigarettes strengthens the role they take in film noir as do the extreme close-up of the female’s eyes, which glow green as the cigarette is lit, suggesting she is an enigmatic character and is hiding her true feelings and emotions. The females strong and independent role is shown with her line “are you as bored by the crowd as I am?” Emphasising the film noir role of a 'Femme Fatale' which is used by the director to arouse suspiscion and gain attention from the audience. he male replies again romantically, gushing that “I didn’t come here for the party. I came here for you.” Though this can be seen as romantic is does connotate the classic film noir theme of bleakness and unease in his dominance as a male character, and once again the audience's suspicion is arroused. His next line confirms this suspicion of a strange stalker and also again establishes the control and power he has when he declares that “I’ve watched you for days,” before returning to the romantic “You’re everything a man could ever want. It’s not just your face, your figure, or your voice, it’s your eyes. All the things I see in your eyes.” Its this constant jump from the cold, calculating stalker role into a romantic, gushing, handsome male that causes unease for the audience, and emphasises classic film noir themes of deception and a moral ambiguity the male seems to hold.

The woman, under the spell of the handsome, stylish and confident male, is intrigued deeply in this statement, asking “what is it you see in my eyes?” The male again states deeply “I see a crazy calm. You’re sick of running. You’re ready to face what you have to face. But you don’t want to face it alone.” “No. I don’t want to face it alone.” The audience is interested and yearning to find out what “it” is, a convention of film noir being a hidden twist or event to the plot which is brought into the scene. It is these enigmas used by the director that show film noir connotations and themes in this modern film.

The film then cuts to a animated clip of the characters embrace, the mis-en-scene is shown in complete stark contrast in black and white, highlighting the battle of morals and good and evil so common in film noir.

As the male narrates once more, the romantic and poetic theme is brought up more with the phrase “the wind rises electric. She’s soft and warm and almost weightless. Her perfume is sweet promise that brings tears to my eyes.” The characters embrace and kiss as the narration moves on, “I tell her that everything will be alright. That I’ll save her from whatever she’s scared of and take her far far away.” The pause between the two blunt phrases “I tell her…I love her,” arouses suspicion of deception which is confirmed when the male shoots the female. In an instant the romantic, poetic male is replaced with the calculating, blunt assassin who narrates the scene coldly, stating “the silencer makes a whisper of the gunshot, I hold her close until she’s gone, I’ll never know what she’s running from.” Before the utter coldness and lack of conscience in his words “I’ll cash her cheque in the morning.”

As the camera zooms out, the characters are shown in-between the light of the inside and the dark of the outside, displaying once again the theme of deception, corruption, a battle between good and evil. The birds-eye view shown sets the audience as almost a god-like figure, allowing them to watch the apperent small and insignificant characters battle the constanst war of moral bleakness in the film, it also establishes the audiences knowledge of what were the enigmas displayed.