IDEA FOR A CONTEMPORARY NOIR

Rough synopsis: As a college student, the hero has not much on his mind but girls and A levels. One day he is smiled at by a girl, who then approaches him as he leaves college. She asks him out for a coffee, and he agrees. They begin talking, and soon start a relationship. He thinks he has hit the top, but one rainy night she comes to his house late at night. She is crying, soaking wet and covered in dirt. He invites her in, worried and she begs him to hide something for her. He is wary at first, but she convinces him and eventually they sleep together. He then decides that anything is worth it for her, and doesn’t question what she has hidden in his house. Life goes on as usual for a few days, but suddenly the girl stops talking to the boy. He sees her around with another guy, and begins to get jealous. He remembers the package she hid, and opens it one night when he is home alone. He finds lots of packets of £20 notes. He gets worried, and there is a knock at the door. He opens the door and two men are standing there with their faces in shadow. They grab him and he is forced into a van. He is gagged and bound, and the doors are closed behind him. He feels the van move, and rolls into something hard but blacks out. When he comes around, the van doors are open slightly and light in shining through. He notices he is amongst two other young men. The doors are pulled open and all the men are dragged into a garage. They are then interrogated, and it is revealed that the money belongs to a rich man that the girl had wronged. She stole the money from him to help her family, who were suffering due to excessive government spending cuts. She was meant to be babysitting his children, but took it upon herself to earn money by stealing it from him instead. It turns out that the other men that were also tied up in the van are people who the girl used to hide the cash with. The total amount is shared amongst all three boys. They are tied up, and then the girl is brought in. She is forced to explain to them what is happening, at gunpoint. She is asked where the money is, and says it is at the boy’s house. The truth is it is spread equally, but she lied to save two lives. Or so she thinks. The other two boys are taken away, and their houses are searched. The girl and boy are left in the garage and the opening scene plays out. When he comes to, he wakes up to a gun by his head. The girl is holding it, and by her legs is one of the men who had captured them earlier. She says she has it all planned out. She’s going to run away, but she can’t leave any evidence behind. She unties him and he thinks she is going to make him leave with her. Instead, she shoots the boy, but fails to kill him. She drops the gun in shock, and slides to the floor in tears. She buries her head in her hands and the boy grabs the gun. She looks up and realises what is going on, a look of fear appears on her face as she is shot in the heart. He runs out of the garage and collapses on the floor outside.

Rough idea for the opening sequence: The opening sequence would start as many Film Noirs do, with the end at the beginning. The main character will be gagged and tied up in a dimly lit garage. He will talk about his situation using voice over narration, giving an insight into the storyline. The audience will then view the story from the start, with an introduction to the main character, his friends and the femme fetale. The audience sees that the main character goes to college, and the relationship between the main character and the femme fetale is set up.

EVALUATION OF THE PRELIMINARY EXERCISE

For the preliminary exercise we worked in a group of three. I worked with Dianne Hamilton and Kirsten Day. In order to be sure there were enough people to act and film we teamed up with another group, who acted for us. In return, we did acting for their exercise.

Before we could even begin filming we had to create a storyboard and a script. We all created individual storyboards and then compared them. As a group we planned a final storyboard which detailed what each shot would be and the camera angles. We then drew up a rough script which consisted of a simple conversation relating to what the characters were doing that evening. This meant that it did not take away from the filming techniques we were trying to show. Once this had all been sorted we had to collect our equipment and set it up correctly. We were using a camera, tripod and microphone in order to capture the sound of our actors talking. There were a lot of wires involved so we carried the equipment together to avoid anyone tripping over anything. Once everything was set up we began filming. In order to make sure everyone had a fair shot at filming we each did two shots and then swapped over. Whilst one person was filming, the other would hold the microphone and the other would note down the shot timings. This was really helpful when it came to editing because we knew exactly where the shots were on the tape and which ones we wanted to use. When it came down to editing we took turns and each had input. This meant that by the time it comes to editing our final piece we will all know how to do everything involved and can identify out strengths and weaknesses in order to work more productively as a group. As a whole I think we did really well, and each helped each other to succeed. I feel I learnt a lot and so did the others in my group. In terms of skills, I learnt how to use an external microphone which I'd never used before. I also learnt how to edit in Final Cut Pro I think I did quite well with the new skills, and didn't really struggle.

Focusing more on the actual exercise, the technical quality is quite good. However, there are a few mistakes. During the first part we were shooting in a corridor and because of the amount of equipment and people we were quite restricted with space. This meant that when the actor reaches the door their head gets cut off. This was somewhat unavoidable, so it would have been nicer to have used a wider corridor or different setting. Once we were inside the room we had a lot more space so the shots in the room are much better. However, as the actor sits down he lets out a little laugh. The exercise would have looked a lot better if we had re-shot that, as it looks somewhat unprofessional. The sound is good and even throughout, however there is a small blip around 24 seconds where we clearly left the shot too long. This was something that went wrong in the editing process and we clearly missed when reviewing the final exercise. In future, I would want to pay much more attention to the sound to be sure things like this don't happen. I also think it is a little jumpy during the conversation, there seem to be a lot of shots for such a short amount of time. I think we were trying to show all the shots we could do, but in future should probably stretch them over more time. The conversation was quite fast, and we should have probably asked the actors to talk a little slower. However, I feel the composition is quite good and the actors are framed well in the shots. The mise-en-scene was good as the actors look like college students and it is clear they are in a college environment. The narrative works well as it is clear they are friends talking about their plans for later on. We didn't really have a genre for this as it was just a simple exercise. Also, it was not screened to an audience so we do not have any audience feed back. Due to the fact it was essentially a warm up exercise the point of it was more to practice and enhance our skills, not to please others. I feel our ideas came across well and we followed our original storyboard. We also showed examples of the 180 degree line rule and made sure the actors eye contact lined up to make it look like a realistic conversation.

Overall, I am quite pleased with out preliminary exercise and think we did really well for a first try. There are obviously mistakes and things we could have fixed, but some of these we only found after completing the exercise. The only different thing I think we could have done would have been to use less shots, and slow things down a little to make it look calmer and less sudden. I think the text at the beginning is a little long too, especially since the exercise is quite short. Apart from that, I am quite proud of what we achieved and think our group worked really well.

PRELIMINARY EXERCISE

In order to demonstrate a basic level of skill and knowledge we had to do a preliminary exercise, before we could start preparing for our contemporary noir opening. Our brief was to film a short task, and edit it. It had to consist of a character walking to a door, opening it, walking across a room, sitting down and having a short conversation with another character who was already in the room. The task had to demonstrate use of the 180 degree line rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot.

Before we could begin filming, we had to do some preparation. We had to create a group storyboard using no more than eight shots. We had to script the dialogue that our characters would say, and keep it simple so that actors would not having trouble learning it. Once this was done we went to film our exercise. We then used the Macs and Final Cut Pro to edit all the shots together.

ANALYSIS OF A FILM OPENING: JUNO

Juno is a comedy-drama film from 2007. It was directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. It stars Ellen Page as Juno, a young teenage girl who falls pregnant, and Michael Cera as the father of her child. The film follows Juno's choices in giving the baby to a rich couple who can not have children, and what happens to all the families involved during the duration of the pregnancy. Although the subject of the film is teenage pregnancy and is not often a happy thing, the main feeling of the film is up-beat. The opening is Juno walking to the chemists to get a pregnancy test, and is done in animated form. 

The pace of the opening is quite slow, as we follow Juno on her walk to the chemists. It begins in live action but changes into animation shortly after the walk begins. In order to create the title credits more interesting it seems that they have made an animated short, instead of just having the plain boring text pop up on screen like many films do. Since it is an animation, you cannot convey the same moment as you can in live action so the cinematography is quite simple. There is clever used of soft pastel background colours which contrast with the hard colours of Juno's clothing. She is contrasting the soft background, and really stands out. Also, at some points there is no colour at all in the background, but Juno stays coloured in. The main prop is the bottle of Sunny D which Juno regularly drinks from. There is also a lot of nature; trees, falling leaves, etc. The location is animated, but gives the impression that we are in a small town as we see cars, houses and small shops. The background music is a very important part of the opening. The whole film has a very similar sounding soundtrack and songs are used regularly. The opening lasts as long as the song does, it is quite a happy song which match the calmness of the opening. At this point in the film the viewer is unaware that Juno is pregnant so don't understand where she is going. The music almost tricks the viewer into thinking she is going somewhere nice and fun, when in fact she is going to find out her fate. The names of those involved in creating the film appear on numerous places in the animated form of the town. For example, on walls or windows. The font is quite thick and looks as if it has been hand coloured, much like the animation itself. The narrative is

basically a young girl walking through her neighbourhood drinking Sunny D. It's a regular moment that happens millions of times a day all over the world. The enigma is 'what is her purpose? where is she going? why is she going there?'. We are introduced into the character of Juno, and all we know about her is she is young, apparently likes Sunny D and is going somewhere. We have no reason to dislike her, and she looks like quite a nice girl so the audience is more likely to be sympathetic to her once they discover her situation. We also briefly see high school runners, but they are in the background and are not really focused on. The titles give an impression that this is a low budget indie film due to the use of the basic animation. Not many clues are given to the genre, we know it will relate to young people so assume it will be some sort of teen movie. It doesn't really grip the viewer, but charms them. It almost grabs the viewer by the hand and says 'hey, come watch this, it'll be nice'.

ANALYSIS OF A FILM OPENING: SIN CITY

Sin City is a 2005 American neo-noir crime film. It was produced and directed by Frank Miller and Rober Rodriguez and was based on Miller's graphic novel series also named Sin City. It stars Bruce Wllis, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke, Elijah Wood and many others. The film follows three stories; one about a man who goes on a brutal rampage following the murder of his lover, the second about a street war between some prostitutes and some mercenaries, and the third about a police officer who is protecting a woman from a serial killer. The opening scene is based around the first story, and was created much before the rest of the film by Rodriguez in order to show Miller he could translate the graphic novels into a film without loosing their original content.

The scene opens with a woman walking over to a balcony in a red dress. Everything else is in black and white but her dress and her lipstick. A man walks up behind her and she turns around. He offers her a cigarette, which she takes. They kiss and he holds her, then shoots her and she dies in his arms. The camera then zooms out to an overview of the city and the buildings are in the shape of the film title 'Sin City', which then turn red and block out to leave just the text. The pace is quite slow, and the viewer does not expect the woman to be killed. However, as soon as she is it gives a firm idea of what the rest of the film will be like. It starts with a high angle shot, showing the vulnerability of the woman. The next shot is a mid shot, showing the two characters interacting. There is a lot of use of over the shoulder shots and close ups to show the emotion of the characters. When the woman in on the floor dying in the man's arms, it is a high angle shot in heavy rain. This is when the overview of the city takes over. The editing is very smooth and flows well. There is a moment where the two characters kiss, and the shot becomes almost cartoon like. This is because the kiss is staged, and the man is actually a hit man that has been hired to kill the woman. However, the audience does not know this so the sudden use of animation creates an enigma. The location is a terrace, attached to a large building. This gives the impression of wealth, although the location itself is not clear. We assume we are in a large city due to the overview.

The costumes are evening wear, and look expensive. They fit in well with the surroundings. The only props used are the cigarettes, lighter and the gun that kills the woman. The cigarettes and gun are actually mentioned in the voice over narrative so we get the impression that they are heavily important to the story line. The characters speak in a very hard boiled sense, much like the old Film Noir films. As this is a neo-noir, this has clearly been done on purpose to introduce the audience to the genre. There is use of a voice over, another convention of Film Noir, which adds more mystery as the things the character is saying do not seem to match the images we are seeing. For example, he says 'I'll never know what she was running from. I'll cash her cheque in the morning.', whilst we assume that he knows her because of the way they act together before he kill her. The background music is quiet jazz, and follows the mood and rhythm of the speech. It stops at the sound effect of the gun shot and then different music takes over as the camera moves away from the characters. It becomes more modern and dynamic, whilst still having jazz elements. It reflects the change of atmosphere, as a murder has just been committed and the audience does not know why. The title font is very plain, and very much in the style of Film Noir. The text is all one colour, a red which could represent blood as we have just witnessed a murder. The only title used is the name of the film, we do not see the names of actors, directors or anyone else who made the film. This means that there is no other text to distract the viewer from the action. The narrative is quite clear, yet very confusing. At first it seems that the pair are a couple but as soon as the man shoots the woman this creates an enigma, 'why did he do that?'. We don't really find out much about the characters, which creates another enigma. The audience immediately take a disliking to the man because he kills the woman and talks about cashing a cheque. This gives him in the impression of being corrupt and evil, and she seems defenseless. The production value looks quite high end since the opening is very sophisticated, and smooth. The genre is clearly noir, the atmosphere and voice over narrative are perfect examples of classic Film Noir conventions. The opening certainly grips the audience since it creates an enigma, and the audience wants to know why the opening scene has happened and what it means.

ANALYSIS OF A FILM OPENING: SE7EN

The 1995 film Se7en is categorised as a crime film with neo-noir and horror elements. It was directed by David Fincher and starred Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. They play two detectives who become involed with a case concerning a series of sadistic murders relating to each of the seven deadly sins. The opening sequence is a series of moving images that look like a person creating a sick scrapbook filled with strange images and phrases. The names of those involed in making the film also appear in white text, mostly against a plain black background whilst the camera shakes.

The pace and rhythm of the opening is really fast, which gives the audience an uneasy feeling. This sets up the whole feeling of the film, as a good opening should. The cuts and traditions are quick, and the images are often only on screen for a second or two. This leaves the audience confused and often wondering what it was they just saw. For example, at the start of the opening there is a glimpse of a hand holding an old fashioned razor blade and it looks as if he is cutting of the skin on his fingertips. However, it moves so quickly that you are not actually sure that is what you saw, or that is what you are meant to have seen. The shots are taken from all angles and heights, again to heighten the confusion of the viewer. The camera work is quite shaky and moves very suddenly. The result is a very jerky series of images. Most of the shots are very close up to the objects, meaning the viewer gets not sense of location. In fact, some shots are so close that they are out of focus which makes the viewer feel uncomfortable and unsure of what is happening. The props are very important as they are basically all you see. They are things such as books, razorblades, needles, photographs, scissors, pens, negatives and even drops of blood. In the short duration of the opening there is a large amount of props which makes the viewer even more confused. The whole opening is aimed at giving the audience hints of what is to come, and each prop had a significance. You never actually see a full person, only their hands so costume and performance are not really significant in this opening. This almost makes it more eerie because the audience has no way to establish a connection with the character. Lighting wise, here is a great deal of play between light and shadow, and there is not much colour apart from the strong presence of red in a few moment where it looks as if someone is developing photographs in a dark room. There is a song in the background which is Closer by Nine Inch Nails. It is very scratchy, and has a quite sinister tone. As the music speeds up it comes to the point where you hear the lyrics 'you get me closer to God', which in itself relates to the film as it is about the idea of the seven deadly sins. At this point the shots get much faster and the audience barely gets a chance to get a good look at them before they change. The titles are written in different and uneven fonts, and are placed in random sections on the screen. They also flash and move around as if there is no discipline to them. The text is in white, and mostly against a black background. At moments scratchy text appears for less than a second and is often unreadable. This gives the impression that the film has been tampered with, and something is wrong. The narrative is unclear, and in fact it is quite difficult to decide what is going on. As I previously mentioned, it looks as if someone is cutting of their fingertips, and later in the opening there is a hand with bandages around the fingertips. The enigma that is set up is simply 'why?' and 'is is possibly they have attempted to cut away their finger prints...ergo are they doing/planning to do something illegal?'. This is basically the only introduction to this character we get, which isn't much of an introduction at all. All we know is the detail of the fingerprints, and that they are creating some sort of morbid scrapbook. However, since we don't see the face of the character we can't actually be sure it was all one person, although this is implied. This creates another enigma, 'who is this person?'. The opening does not look particularly high budget, it is not filled with special effects and stunts but if it was it would not suit the whole tone of the film. The opening really fits in with the film, and grips the viewer. After seeing it the audience really want to know what the story is. There is so many clues and hints packed into such a short amount of time, it is almost impossible to not be gripped by it.

ANALYSIS OF A NEO NOIR: BRICK

Brick is a 2005 American film written and directed by Rian Johnson. He was inspired by the hardboiled detective novels written by Dashiell Hammett, and set out to create a detective film like the Film Noirs he had watched in his childhood. However, he did not want to simply imitate them, and instead wanted to create one of his own. This is why he chose to set the film in a high school turning it into a contemporary Neo Noir.

The film follows California high school student Brendan Frye, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who chooses to alienate himself from his fellow students. This turns him into the classic Film Noir character of the loner, the anti-hero. The film begins with him looking at the body of an unknown blonde girl, who is clearly dead. The scene then changes to Brendan at his locker, and text appears on screen saying ‘Two days earlier’. This is a characteristic of Film Noir in which the narrative begins at the end, and the story is then told to explain what has happened. It is later revealed that the blonde girl is Brendan’s ex girlfriend, Emily played by Emilie de Ravin, who he has previously received a distressed call from. Brendan attempts to find her and sort out her problems, but she is killed before he can. He decides to find who killed her, and why, which leads him to become involved with The Pin, played by Lukas Haas, a drug baron and his violent associate Tug, played by Noah Fleiss, who spends the majority of the film punching or threatening people, including Brendan. A stock character in Film Noir is the Femme Fatale, and in Brick she comes in the form of Laura Dannon, played by Nora Zehetner. She is the popular high school girl involved in The Pin’s dealings. Throughout the film she tries to get Brendan to trust her, and consistently offers him lifts. In the last scene of the film she stands with Brendan on the school field after he has discovered that Emily’s death was partly caused by Laura blaming her for stealing drugs. He harshly tells her everything he knows, whilst she begs him to believe her that he is wrong and cries. In this scene she wears a coat with a fur trim, echoing the style of the Femme Fatales of the classic Film Noir era. There is also another female that could be considered a Femme Fatale, although she appears in the film much less often. Kara, played by Meagan Good, is the seductive actress in the school play. Brendan goes to her for information a few times in the film, and it becomes clear that they have a past although it is not expanded on. Brendan says ‘Still picking your teeth with freshmen?‘ to which Kara answers ‘Well, you were a freshman once.‘

The storyline in Brick is centred on a murder, much like many of the classic Film Noirs. It also incorporates drugs and the ideology that people are not to be trusted. For example, Assistant Vice Principle Trueman, played by Richard Roundtree, represents the higher authority in this film. It would be assumed that he would be a moral and truthful person as he is partly in charge of hundreds of highly impressionable teenagers. Instead, he tries to get Brendan to snitch on his fellow students, and then agrees to keep his name out of any trouble that occurs. This is reminiscent of the bent coppers often found in Film Noir. In fact, as the film continues it seems more and more that Brendan can’t trust anyone and they all have something to hide.

The characters use very hardboiled language, much like was used in classic Noir. This clearly comes from Johnson’s love of hardboiled novels. Brendan is the leader in this, and the majority of his script is highly quotable. For example, in one of his first conversations with Laura she says ‘I know everyone, and I have all the time in the world.’ Brendan then follows up with ‘Ah, the folly of youth.’ Admittedly, it is somewhat strange hearing this language from teenagers but this adds a modern feel to the film reminding us that we’re not watching classic Noir, but in fact Neo Noir. Adults are rarely scene in the film, and when The Brain, Brendan’s main aide, is describing The Pin he says ‘he's supposed to be old, like 26.’ This highlights the focus on high school students.

Sound is very important in Brick, much like it was in classic Noir. The music would usually be downbeat jazz and piano music. In Brick there is a lot of use of traditional instruments, especially the piano, trumpet and violin. However, there is a small part in the film in which Brendan goes to a pie store to speak to some drug addicts and the background music is made up mainly of a banjo. This is something that would not have been found in Film Noir, but seems to fit in well with the desolate American scenery that Brick puts across. Much like in Film Noir, the danger and crime doesn’t just happen in the seedy areas. Brendan is often seen using phone booths on dusty roads, giving the impression that his America is somewhat of a wasteland. Film Noir spread the message of social depravation and Brick’s violent, drug addicted characters put forward this message again. Instead of showing a land affected by war, we see a land affected by sex, violence and drugs. In the modern age, these are often issues covered by the mass media much like the war was back in the classic Noir era.

The film was mainly received well by critics, and made $3.9 million worldwide. It ranked 35 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 50 Best High School Movies and 489th on Empire magazine’s list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. Kristi Mitsuda from indieWIRE.com said that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen “a movie as purely and perfectly entertaining as Rian Johnson‘s Sundance prize-winning debut feature, Brick.” Most reviews, as well as Mitsuda’s classified the film as an excellent example of Neo Noir. I think Brick has the ability to appeal to a wide audience, for one lovers of Film Noir would probably enjoy this modern revival. It is also likely to appeal to teenagers as it is set in their natural surroundings.

CONTEMPORARY NOIR: BLADE RUNNER

Blade Runner is a 1982 American film directed by Ridley Scott. It is set in Los Angeles, 2019 and stars Harrison Ford as retired police officer Rick Deckard. He is forced to go back into work to hunt down “replicants”, which are artificially created humans who have come to Earth illegally.

There are many Film Noir characteristics in Blade Runner. Deckard is the classic anti-hero, he is a loner who drinks too much and falls for the Femme Fatale. In this film, Rachael, played by Sean Young, would be considered to be the Femme Fatale. There was also a voice over used in the original version of the film, another classic characteristic. The settings were also often rainy and dark, such as deserted alleys at night. There is a direct link with Noir in the scene where Deckard kisses Rachael in front of a venetian blind, which was a distinct lighting effect used in classic Film Noirs. Also, the film puts into question the idea of what it is to be human, much like classic Film Noir toyed with the idea of humanity and fate.

Deckard: All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got?

CONTEMPORARY NOIR: TAXI DRIVER

Taxi Driver is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is set in New York, soon after the Vietnam War and stars Robert De Niro as ex-Marine and War veteran, Travis Bickle. He is a lonely insomniac who works as a cab driver at night. He becomes obsessed with Betsy, a worker on a presidential campaign played by Cybill Shepherd, but fails at achieving her affections by accidently taking her to a porn movie on their first date. He also attempts to help twelve-year-old runaway turned prostitute Iris, played by Jodie Foster, by trying to persuade her to leave the profession. Eventually, so disgusted by humanity he buys four guns and plans to assassinate a Senator.

Taxi Driver has a lot of Film Noir characteristics. The visuals are very reminiscent of classic Noir with rainy streets and reflections of neon signs. There is also a voice over, a very common characteristic in Noir. The character of Travis is a classic character, a beat down hero who slips further into misery. At some point in the film, after being shot, Travis attempts suicide but has no ammunition in any of his weapons so sits on a sofa and waits for the police instead. This is heavily reminiscent of the Noir ideology of fate getting in everyone’s way, and making things difficult for him or her. There is a heavy sense of social issues, although they are different to those originally documented in the Noirs of the 40s and 50s. The effect of the Vietnam war is the main element in this film, much like the effect of WWII was in classic Film Noirs.

Travis: Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape.

NEO-NOIR

Neo-Noir is a film genre, which takes many of the traditional elements of Film Noir and mixes them with contemporary themes, content and styles that were not around at the original time of Film Noir. They use some of the codes and conventions of Film Noir in more modern settings, making them often quite different to classic Film Noirs. Neo-Noirs are considered to be any film from the mid 1960s onwards that  use the stylistics and storylines common in Film Noirs. As black and white is not often used anymore, the classic black and white Film Noir look is converted into a more contemporary full colour look. This is one of the ways in which Neo-Noir and Film Noir differs. However, Neo-Noir films often used the same characters and plots as were common in Film Noir. The downbeat hero who falls into a life of crime is highly common, and society is often portrayed as depressing and pessimistic. Film Noir focussed on the effects of World War II, whilst some Neo-Noirs, such as Blade Runner, portray a dystopia. This is still showing the problems of a broken society, but in a much more futuristic way. Low key lighting is still used, but the striking contrasts of blacks and whites are less prominent due to the full colour spectrum now available in film making. As well as this, contemporary Neo-Noirs have far less issues with censorship as the original Film Noirs did in the 40s and 50s. This means they are often less suggestive, and include full on violence instead of letting the viewer imagine it. This shows the changing needs and ideologies of the audience, as violence and sex became more acceptable as the years went on.

Examples of some Neo-Noirs are:

• Chinatown (1974)
• Taxi Driver (1976)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Scarface (1983)
• Tequila Sunrise (1988)
• Body Heat (1981)
• L.A. Confidential (1997)

ANALYSIS OF A CLASSIC NOIR

The film Double Indemnity is often considered to be a classic example of Film Noir. It was released in 1944, directed by Billy Wilder and was based on a hard-boiled novel of the same name by James M. Caine. This in itself could be considered a characteristic of Film Noir as many of them were based on the hard-boiled crime fiction of the time.

The characters in Film Noir are very typical to the genre. Walter Neff is a beat down Insurance Salesman who drinks too much and smokes too much. He always has a match handy and is seen throughout the film lighting cigarettes and cigars for himself, and others. He narrates the film, another common characteristic and talks matter-of-factly about his own fate. He falls for the Femme Fatale, Phyllis Dietrichson, a housewife who wishes to kill her husband. Already we have come across two of the stock characters for Film Noir and one of the most popular storylines used; the murder of a husband. Of course, Neff agrees to help her and, as this is Film Noir and no one is an honest person, creates a plan so that they can both profit from Mr. Dietrichson’s death.

The atmosphere in the film is quite pessimistic. We are introduced to Walter as he is recording his confession for his friend, and colleague, Barton Keyes and the story is then explained in flash backs. This is a very common characteristic in Noirs. From the start, Walter tells us he is a murderer and the audience immediately knows this will not be a happy film. Keyes makes a statement in which he comments that murder, especially double murder, will always end up with the death of those who commit it. Keyes also often comments on the lies and cheats of people trying to put in phony insurance claims. As was common in Film Noirs, this gives the impression that people as a whole are not trustworthy and just want to wrangle money out of others by any means possible. This is echoed in Walter and Phyllis’ plan.

The lighting in Double Indemnity is completely by the book of Film Noir conventions. There is a lot of use of venetian blinds, in fact in the scene where Phyllis is shot by Walter she turns off all the lights before he enters the room. The only light from then on is that coming through the windows, although Walter later closes the curtains, and from her cigarette.

As well as this, there is the use of a classic Noir soundtrack. The striking combination of silence and loud noises, added with the ambiance of city life is present in most Noir films. A great example in this film is the shooting scene, in which the sound of the first gunshot echoes and shocks the viewer. Walter and Phyllis often met at the local super market, proving that crime doesn’t just happen in the sleazy and depressing parts of the city but in fact all areas which was a strong Noir ideology. During these meets, the sounds of super market life are happening in the background, furthering the ideology.

In conclusion, it is very clear that Double Indemnity is a classic Noir. From it’s use of flashbacks and narratives to it’s by the book characters is fits the codes and conventions of the genre extremely well.

CLASSIC NOIR: THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE

The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 Film Noir directed by Tay Garnett. It starts John Garfield as a drifter named Frank Chambers who gets a job at a diner, and Lana Turner as Cora Smith who owns the diner with her husband. They pair begin an affair and as Cora wishes to escape her situation, they plan to murder her husband. They then have to face the queries of a local prosecutor who suspects them of the murder. Cora pleads guilty to manslaughter and receives probation, after which her and Frank believe they can finally begin a happy life together. However, Cora is killed in a car accident but Frank is accused of setting it up. He is sentenced to death, and ponders on the idea of the postman always ringing twice. By this, he means that if you are waiting for a letter it does no matter if you don't hear the postman at first for he will always ring again. He believes this is the same in life, and him being blamed for Cora's death is his "second ring" for the murder of her husband. The film is based on a 1934 crime novel by James M. Cain, of the same name. This film is another good example of classic Noir. It involves a femme fatale, Cora, and a doomed hero, Frank. They get involved in a murder, and eventually cannot escape fate's clutches.

Frank Chambers: With my brains and your looks, we could go places.

CLASSIC NOIR: DOUBLE INDEMNITY

Double Indemnity is a 1944 Film Noir, directed by Billy Wilder. It starts Fred MacMurray as insurance salesman Walter Neff and Barbara Stanwyck as housewife Phyllis Dietrichson. After visiting the Dietrichson household to speak about insurance, Walter can't get Phyllis off his mind and is very happy when she appears at his apartment. They begin an affair, and Walter agrees to help Phyllis murder her husband and claim on the insurance. Being an insurance salesman, he assures her that they can get away with it. Of course, this does not go to plan and neither of the two end up happy, or alive. The film was based on the 1935 novella by James M. Cain. The term 'double indemnity' refers to clause in some life insurance policies that means the pay out is doubled when someone dies of an accidental death.

Double Indemnity is a perfect example of a classic Film Noir. Walter, the hapless hero, falls for Phyllis, the femme fatale, who leads him into crime and eventually death. Murder is a common storyline in Film Noirs, and is very present in this film. There is use of the famous Venetian blinds effect, and in Phyllis' final scene she sits in the dark with no light but that from her ciggarette, and a little coming through the windows.

Phyllis: We're both rotten. Walter: Only you're a little more rotten.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF FILM NOIR

The codes and conventions of Film Noir are very easy to distinguish, making Film Noirs easy to recognize. The codes and conventions, especially when it comes to cinematography and editing, change very little from film to film and narratives and storylines are used again and again. 

The cinematography of Film Noir films is often distorted, in order to make the viewer uncomfortable. There is a lot of use of low and high angles to give the impression of importance, or unimportance in certain characters. For example, in the film ‘Double Indemnity’ the first shot of Phyllis Dietrichson (pictured) is a low angled shot, showing from the start of the film her control over insurance salesman Walter Neff, who looks up at her from below. There is also a lot of use of dutch tilts, or irregular framing of shots to unsettle the viewer. Faces, or views, are often obscured through objects or seen in reflections to create mystique.

Much like the cinematography, the editing was often irregular and non-linear to create atmosphere. Film Noirs would often start with the end, and then explain the story in flashbacks. Most of these would be continuous, but sometimes there would be use of montages. There was often use of jump cuts and jarring juxtaposition to mess with the viewer, and make them very aware that they were not watching a relaxing show. This would put them on edge, reflecting perfectly the anxious and paranoid ideology of Film Noir.

Mise-en-scene was a big part of Film Noir. There was a lot of use of low-key lighting and shadows, to create contrasting images. A famous light effect used was that of the Venetian blinds. These would be cast upon a character or setting, such as in the film ‘Fallen Angel’ (pictured). The films would usually be low budget and sets would often be recycled from other films, so filmmakers would use whatever light they could. The lack of brightness added to the feeling of a grim and pessimistic society, and the lighting often directed the audience on where to look, deciding for them what details they needed to notice. The films were usually set in everyday locations, moving on from crime movies where crime would happen and the ‘dodgy’ ends of town only. In Film Noirs, crime could happen everywhere further causing distress to the viewer. Damp and wet streets were common in Film Noirs, mixing well with the sleazy and untrustworthy characters that were often found in the films.

In most Film Noirs, the main character would be a “doomed hero” who smoked too much, drank too much and spent a lot of his time contemplating his fate. He would usually fall for the femme fatale, a dame with a past, devilishly sexy and definitely not to be trusted. The majority of characters in Film Noir were sleazy, you would have corrupt cops, criminals and dodgy insurance salesmen just to name a few. The characters would talk in very flat, hard and to-to-point language, further showing their lack of positivity. Many of the language would come from the pulp fiction the films were based on, these were tough and sleazy ‘hard boiled’ fiction.

The primary moods of Film Noir are pessimism, anxiety, paranoia and alienation. The films put forward the idea that America was a brutal and corrupt place, and people were not to be trusted. After the war, people were not in a happy place and Film Noir captured this perfectly. Gone were the days when films main purpose was to make people feel good, cinema was now bitter and negative. This was all reflected in the storylines and narrative used for the films. A common storyline was that the doomed hero would fall for the femme fatale, who would one way or another lead him into committing a crime. The film would then follow the hero’s demise, such as in the film ‘Double Indemnity’. Another story used was that in which the hero would be torn between the femme fatale and another woman, a more sensible woman who truly loved him. Of course, he should choose the sensible woman, but could never resist the sexy and dangerous femme fatale. In order to get past censorship rules, Film Noir developed certain ways of putting across sex and violence, without directly mentioning it. Many of the characters talked in euphemisms, especially the main character and the femme fatale. Also, violence was often showed off screen. This meant the audience would often have to fill in the gaps themselves, keeping them actively involved in the film.

Music was heavily used in Film Noir to create tension and drama. There was a lot of piano music and downbeat jazz, which would help to build suspense. As well as this, many Film Noirs would have a voice over. This would allow narration all through the film, even if the storyline was not linear, or the character died. If the main character was drugged, the narration would inform the audience that the surreal images they were seeing were in fact hallucinations caused by the main characters unfortunate luck. There was also a lot of ambience and sound effects of the city and suburbia.

ORIGINS OF FILM NOIR

Originally, Film Noirs were American productions during the “classic period”, although there were a few made in other countries such as France. The heyday years, or the “classic period”, were the 1940s and 1950s. The French film critic Nino Frank gave Film Noir its name because he noticed how dark the American films were at the end of WWII, once France was able to begin receiving Hollywood films again.

Film Noirs were B movies, meaning they had a smaller budget so would often reuse sets from other films. Big studios would usually focus on the A movies, meaning B movie directors had more creative freedom. The lighting in Film Noirs contains a lot of shadow with a lot of contrasts between the light and dark. Flash backs are often used as well as voice over narration.

Film Noirs may have many different plots, but there is usually a central figure that might be a PI or just an ordinary citizen who has been lured into a life of crime. He is likely to have fallen for the femme fatale, who leads him into situations that are going to endanger him. The idea of the femme fatale stems from the sudden boost of women in the workplace. Many of the men went off to fight, leaving a mass of jobs behind which the women took up. This was a new idea, since before the woman was always the homemaker and come the end of the war most women did not wish to go back to this idea. The femme fatale in Film Noir sums up this idea, with added sex appeal.
America’s films grew darker in the 1940s, following the atrocities of war. At the time, America felt powerless to avoid conflict with other countries, which was mirrored in the doomed heroes of the Film Noir films. Following the victory of WWII, America was hit with many social issues such as industrial disputes, rationing, race riots and photographic evidence of the Holocaust. There was also the addition of many Eastern Europeans who were involved in the film industry relocating to Hollywood due to Nazi oppression. They brought with them new ideas and techniques, such as German Expressionism. This included heavily styled sets, use of light, shade and shadows, which influenced Film Noir. America was also very scared of the threat of Communism. Many of the Hollywood Fraternity had left-wing views, which meant during the “hunt” for Communists they were severely at risk. Many began to grass each other up, meaning many films makers were very paranoid, which is reflected in the films.

A film genre is a way of categorising a film based on style and form. Many film critics debate whether Film Noir is a real film genre or not. Film Noir developed from the crime sub-genre and gangster films, often using the same sets and crews. Some argue that Film Noir is just an extension of these genres.



WELCOME & BRIEF

Hello, I am Victoria Chetley, a student at Suffolk New College studying AS Media. This blog will document my coursework over the year.

The coursework brief is to create a two minute opening sequence for a contemporary Film Noir thriller. To do this I will have to research Film Noir, its history and the codes and conventions of the genre. All this research will help me to create my final piece, which is to be done in groups of no more than four people. Each person should have their own responsibilities, and will document all the work they do. All of this, as well as the research and planning, and the final product, will be documented in this blog.

Before we can make our film opening, we will have to undertake a preliminary task so that we can become comfortable with the all the equipment we will use for our final piece. This will be a short film sequence. Once this is done, we can begin to create our Film Noir opening. It should update the Noir genre whilst still keeping with the original ideology, and be certification 15-18.

We will also have to evaluate our work, analysing everything we have done as a group and individuals, and how well the requirements of the specification have been met. This will also appear on my blog.