This a film blog examing neo-noir crime films for the Victoria University of Wellington course Film 101. This blog will examine key stylistic and thematic elements of neo-noir crime films, with reference to the salient material. Due to word constraints, I will only highlight what I consider the most significant neo-noir crime elements of style and form in each movie, despite the fact that they may contain more.
Props play an essential role in many neo-noir films, not only serving to set the contemplative mood, and reinforce themes of mystery, but to indicate certain nuances and intricacies of character to the audience. The use of props combined with the performance of the anti-hero in Bryan Singer's 1995 film, The Usual Suspects, help to "bring a character to life and communicate important dimensions of that character to the audience." The Usual Suspects follows the story of Verbal Kint, a cripple and the sole survivor of an ensemble of criminals forced to stop a drug deal on the orders of the mythical Keyser Soze, who seeks to capitalise the drug market. In the typical neo-noir style, the film is characterised by chiaroscuro, urban settings, unreliable narrators, and convoluted plotlines, though it is the combination of props and performance that most efficiently help define it as a deceitful and power-orientated neo-noir crime film.
Fig.1
Corrigan and White note that props can be used to express "characters thoughts and feelings, their powers and abilities in the world, or the primary themes of the film." In The Usual Suspects, props, such as the cigarette and its smoke, is an instrumental prop, used "according to its common function" but that also expresses common neo-noir themes such as power, mystery and nihilism. (Fig.1)
Fig.2
From the opening sequence in which a smoking cigarette is used to start a fire which leads to the an explosion (fig.2), to a cigarette being thrown by Redfoot into the face of McManus (fig.3) and the final shot of the film when Verbal Kint lights a cigarette and calmly drives away from prosecution (fig.4), the symbolism of the cigarette permeates almost every scene, as an indicator of power, as he who holds the cigarette is he who is in control. The contextualised prop of the cigarette also furthers character development, in common noir films the cigarette is used to shroud the smoker in fumes of mystery and deceit, it is the same in The Usual Suspects, Verbal Kint is often seen smoking, this indicates to the audience that his version of the truth he narrates is not necessarily to be trusted.
Fig.3
Fig.4
The use of the cigarette prop as a symbol of power combined with the stylised performance of Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint as an anti-hero, creates a juxtaposing image. Here is a character, who the audience is supposed to identify and sympathise with due to his disability and vulnerability, wielding the prop that indicates power and control. (Fig.6). This indicates again to the audience that the character is not all he seems, and makes the revelation of Verbal Kint being Keyser Soze (the most dangerous and feared character in the film) all the more shocking due to the clues given but missed by the audience. In this scene for instance (Begin 1:18-1:49) take note of the combination of the two aspects of the films form, Spacey's sympathy-inducing performance, made up of a severe limp, hunched gait, gump hand and innocent facial expressions and the prop of the cigarette.
Verbal interrupts Agent Kujan multiple times, first to ask for a cigarette, then as he drops it, and then as Kujan lights it for him. A clear struggle for power here is established by the prop of the cigarette, aided by Spacey's performance, with Verbal ending up the ultimate 'winner' as he gains power over the Agent interrupting his speech and distracting him from his hard-boiled detective routine. This foreshadows the final scene of the film, in which the audience sees the cigarette again, this time lit easily by Kint himself, as Agent Kujan desperately searches for him, realising his tragic mistake and 'losing' again. (Begin at 4:05).
References
Corrigan, Tim and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. Boston: St Martins, 2012. Print.
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1995. Film.
From left: Captain, Ed Exley, Bud White, Jack Vincennes
L.A Confidential, as well as featuring neo-noir complex narrations, chiaroscuro lighting and perhaps the most urban setting of all, Los Angeles, showcases neo-noir crime film elements such as the hard-boiled detectives, the love triangle and again, the femme fatale. Curtis Hanson's 1997 film follows the story of three officers, Edmund 'Ed' Exley (Guy Pearce), Wendell 'Bud' White (Russell Crowe) and Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), who, whilst investigating the murders of the Night Owl Shooting discover an intersection of police corruption, drug pedalling and Hollywood celebrity. Corrigan and White comment that in neo-noir crime films such as L.A confidential “hard-boiled detectives are less confident than before, femme fatales are more neurotic and corruption is more sickly and widespread.”
Fig.1
The film explores the very noir notions of a 'hard-boiled' detective, (in this case three), who “who represents the law or a more ambiguous version of it”. Corrigan and White note that these “usually these individuals must battle a criminal element (sometimes the police) to solve a mystery" and that through the course of their investigation they will "uncover a darkness and corruption in virtually all characters that never seem fully resolved." The three detectives, Exley, who is alienated by his unwavering morality (fig.1),
White, a man of brute force willing to do whatever it takes to achieve justice (fig.2)
Fig.2
and Vincennes, a sardonic officer concerned more with his celebrity than his duty (fig.3),
Fig.3
are seemingly not the hard-boiled detectives we have come to know, such as the emotionally-shut-off Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. (Fig.4)
However all three are classic anti-heroes, who's conflict-filled intersecting storylines not only slowly reveal their darker desires and questionable morals, but allow them to escape the confines of their normally tragic past, such as White not being able to protect his abused Mother, and gain closure by means of solving the case. All three detectives are depicted in the film in a shallow depth of field close-ups, normally to capture the conflicting nature of our protagonists emotions as they embark on their journey's, both romantic, work-orientated and personal. In fig.5 we can see the shot rack refocusing "from the captain to Exley to catch the latter's determined expression as he turns toward the interrogation room." (Corrigan and White, 113).
Fig.4
Fig.5
Love triangles are often the centre of neo-noir crime films, with the woman, the femme fatale, usually the sexual apex of desire in the triangle containing two other men, such as in the case of L.A Confidential where Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger), a gorgeous and duplicitous woman manipulates and seduces both Exley and White. (Fig.7).
Fig.7
Corrigan and White note that in neo-noir films “relationships commonly appear determined by violence and sexuality, characterised notably in the femme fatales who surround the male protagonist.” This depiction of relationships, in which the audience is encouraged to immediately equate sexuality with control, emerged due to the weakening of the influence of the 1934 Hay's Code of Conduct which had previously forbade lewd 'unnecessary' sexuality. (Fig.8) This weakening of the codes influences also allowed neo-noir films such as L.A Confidential to portray the femme fatale is more complex and neurotic, embroiling not one, but two men in her web, for both
Fig.8
protection and advantage. These love triangles not only further elements of the plot, leading to a more complex structure we know is characteristic of film noir, but help to explore the the psychology of the characters, highlighting their paranoia, sexual obsession, possessiveness, double-crossing nature and moral ambiguity. The femme fatales vulnerability and sexuality is portrayed stylistically through the use of colour and costume. Lynn is constantly seen in shades of white, cream and yellow, in dresses which brush the floor but typically expose her chest. (Fig. 9). Whilst the light colours proclaim her innocence and vulnerability, the lewd cut of her dress shows her manipulative nature, as she uses her sexuality as her tool for defence or advantage.
Fig.9
References
Corrigan, Tim and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. Boston: St Martins, 2012. Print.
L.A Confidential. Dir. Curtis Hanson. Regency Enterprises, 1997. Film.
The Maltese Falcon. Dir. John Huston. Warner Bros, 1941. Film.
Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan, is a 2000 film told in both forward and reverse, in which Leonard Shelby (Guy Pierce) suffering from anterograde amnesia, a common plot device in noir films, attempts to avenge his wife by finding and killing her rapist and murderer. As well as being set in an desolate setting and making heavy use of chiaroscuro, (fig.1, fig.2) Memento is notably a neo-noir crime film because of its film form contains a elaborate narrative structure, unreliable narrator, and the femme fatale.
Kristen Thompson notes that neo-noir crime films often feature "densely-plotted narratives", the structure of neo-noir crime film does not need to necessarily obey conventional storytelling, in which each sequence connects to the next and information is revealed as it is learned. Neo-noir films often feature storylines that are non-linear, analeptic and convoluted, often with the filmmaker actively withholding information for greater emotional connection and manipulation. The structure of Memento, in which the narrative is split, with coloured scenes playing in reverse chronological order and black and white scenes (a tip-of-the-hat to early noir films) playing chronologically, converge at a crucial apex of the story, Teddy getting shot by Leonard. (Fig.3).
Fig.3
This non-linear narrative structure means that the audience, by joining the film and not knowing how the story got there ultimately experience the same kind of amnesia the protagonist is suffering from. Corrigan and White note that Memento "relies on the viewer involvement in the narrative tension between story and plot to create suspense, mystery and interest." Memento's conflict between what is happening in the scene and what is happening in the story therefore has a greater ability to confuse, surprise, scare and satisfy the viewer by starting in media res, such as the penultimate scene in which it is revealed Leonard has already killed his wife's rapist, but he didn't remember and therefore has kept searching for and killing random 'John G's'. (Fig. 4). As Miss Marple, Agatha Christie's sleuthing detective notes in the famous crime film, The Mirror Crack'd, notes "murder is like a jigsaw. Until you fit in the final piece, you can't see the whole picture."
Fig.4
Whilst most film neo-noir's employ reflexive narrators who call attention to their own "narrative point of view of the story in order complicate or subvert their own narrative authority as a consistent perspective on the world" such as the Narrator in Fight Club. (fig.5). (Corrigan and White).
Fig.5
Memento creates its own unreliable narrator by using a stream-of-consciousness narration, in which Leonard, due to his amnesia, can offer nothing but what he deems 'the facts' (fig.6) with no moral judgement.
Fig.6
In this narration, the audience is placed in the shoes of Leonard, as he receives information so do we, this causes us to believe what we are told, to draw conclusions like that of the main character, to believe what he believes and to try and solve the puzzle that changes shape at the beginning of each new scene.
Fig.7
However, since neo-noir protagonist's are commonly influenced by trauma in their history and doomed by their human flaws to ultimately usurp them from their quest, the audience should predict that Leonard is not telling the truth, despite the fact he believes he is. (Fig. 7).The unreliable narration of Leonard causes the audience to justify his actions, rooting for his vengeance, however, when it is revealed he has already achieved this vengeance and doesn't remember, the audience is betrayed, left conflicted at the idea that the films protagonist was also his own antagonist.
The femme fatale, literally the 'fatal woman', is a film noir character that manipulates the main character, normally sexually or emotionally, usually resulting in their death or downfall. In Memento the character of Natalie, who initially is introduced as a battered woman, is revealed in scenes such as the following to be using the protagonist for their own benefit, cruelly treating them and capitalising on their flaws, in this case Leonard's disability of anterograde amnesia. The character of the femme fatale will be furthered explored through Lynn Bracken, in the analysis of L.A Confidential.
References
Corrigan, Tim and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. Boston: St Martins, 2012. Print.
Thompson, Kirsten Moana. Crime Films Investigating the Scene. London: Wallflower Press, 2007. Print.
Memento. Dir. David Fincher. Newmarket Capital, 2000. Film.
Fight club. Dir. David Fincher. Fox pictures, 1999. Film.
The Mirror Crack'd. Dir. Guy Hamilton. G.W Films, 1980. Film.
David Fincher’s 1995 film Se7en, is the story of two detectives, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and David Mills (Brad Pitt), searching for an anonymous serial killer who sadistically and patiently murders immoral people in an anonymous city in the style of the seven deadly sins. Se7en can be classified as a neo-noir crime film for a multitude of film form and film style reasons, although for this post I will only look at the anonymous setting, chiaroscuro lighting and framing.
The urban landscape, often cities like New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles have often played a large role in neo-noir films, their dark and gritty nature conveying isolation, apathy and danger. In Se7en the city remains anonymous, with a distinct lack of distinguishing landmarks and sign posts (Fig.2).
Fig.2
Kristen Thompson notes that this anonymity of setting “foregrounds social anxieties about urban crime and random violence”, with it’s pervasive darkness seeming to not only bleed into the streets of the city but into its apathetic residents as well. Thompson suggests that this anonymity traps the city in “an endless temporal loop of repetition in which corruption, violence and sin recur day after day, revealing a world of apathy, cynicism and hopelessness.” In Fig.3 Somerset questions the facts of a domestic murder, to which his Captain replies; “It’s always these questions with you…did the kid see it…who gives a fuck…it’s the way it’s always been.”
Fig.3
The setting is also often also obscured by rain, a common aspect of film neo-noir often used to emphasise the characters conflicted emotions, and create an atmosphere of hopelessness in which each day blends indistinguishably into another. The rain also serves to confuse the viewer, heightening the suspense and drama of a sequence, particularly in this climactic chase scene where John Doe presses a gun to Mill’s temple, the rain dripping forebodingly off it. The rain is also used to create reflections, a stylistic element of early noir, in which the image of a character, in this case John Doe, is distorted, giving them both a ominous and fantastical presence and making audiences unsure and wary of what or whom they are seeing.
Fig. 5
Darius Khondji, the cinematographer of Se7en, by applying a silver-retention process to the film negatives and combining it with deep chiaroscuro lighting created “a dark, moody and bleak mise-en-scene” in which the contrast of light and dark both obscures the audiences vision but also helps them to form an image of the horrifying world in which Se7en exists. (Thompson, 176). The combination of these stylistic elements, seen clearly in the previous clip and in fig.5 is used to direct the viewer in each shot, so that the mystery and full horror of the crime can be built up to a tension-filled climax. Often flashlights are the only source of light, heightening the fears of the audience of what exists in the dark corners that they can not see.
As we can see in fig.6 chiaroscuro is often used in conjunction with obstructions such as bars or rails that help to frame the characters morality and foreshadow their fates.
Fig.6
In this scene a barrier obscures John Doe, entrapping him to communicate to the audience that he is the 'bad guy'. Detective Somerset is seen free of all confining devices, indicating he is the 'good guy'. However, where it becomes interesting is that Detective Mills is both, at times obstructed behind bars, at times not, is he a bad guy? Not that the audience has seen so far. These bars are used to show the 'grey area' of Mill's morality, as well as to foreshadow his fate, in which the tragedy of his wife's death at John Doe's hands results in Mill's revenge killing of him, making Mill's, in the eyes of the law the 'bad guy' as he becomes Wrath, the final sin.
References
Thompson, Kirsten Moana. Crime Films Investigating the Scene. London: Wallflower Press, 2007. Print.
Corrigan, Tim and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. Boston: St Martins, 2012. Print.
