What is Film Noir?



Kiss Me Deadly

Firstly, I thought it would be a good idea to look into Film Noir itself and see what characterises a noir; what the conventions are and where it originates from.

Literally translated from French as "black film," Film Noir is not so much a genre of film, but "a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations."
The term was coined by French film critics, such as  Nino Frank in 1946,  who noticed the trend of  'dark', downbeat and black looks and themes in many American crime and detective films released in France to theatres following the war.

A wide range of films released just after The Second World War reflected the resultant tensions and insecurities of the time period, and counter-balanced the optimism of Hollywood's musicals and comedies. Fear, mistrust, bleakness, loss of innocence, despair and paranoia are evident in noir. "The criminal, violent, misogynistic, hard-boiled, or greedy perspectives of anti-heroes in film noir were a metaphoric symptom of society's evils, with a strong undercurrent of moral conflict, purposelessness and sense of injustice." Noirs rarely have optimistic or happy endings, often instead leaving unanswered questions and a bleak outlook.

Developed from German Expressionism of the 1920s and 30s, film noir typically uses black and white cinematography with sharp contrasts between light and ominous shadows. Obscure camera angles and swirling smoke give a mysterious feel. Story locations  tend to be in murky, dark streets that are dimly-lit and low-rent apartments and hotel rooms of big cities, or abandoned warehouses. [Often reduced budgets and shadowy, stark sets of film noirs were due to war-time economy.] "Films from German directors, such as F. W. Murnau, G. W. Pabst, and Robert Wiene, were noted for their stark camera angles and movements, chiaroscuro lighting and shadowy, high-contrast images - all elements of later film noir."



Brief Encounter

As well as this, Storylines are often elliptical, non-linear and twisting- for example, David Lean's 1945 film "Brief Encounter" begins with the,  protagonist, Laura (played by Celia Johnson) at the train station, telling her story, it then goes into a flashback.

Furthermore, Film Noirs tend to have two or three female archetypes:

> The Good Woman: the good woman embraces her traditional “role” in the family as homemaker, is passive and monotonous, and dependent of men. The good woman is nurturing, non-threatening and submissive to conventional values.

The Femme Fatale- The Paradine Case

> The Femme Fatale: This “deadly woman” is typically portrayed as sexually charged, strong, independent and magnetic. Her traits include greed, selfishness and insensitivity.

> The Marrying Type: the marrying type is a combination of the femme fatale and the good woman. She could be just a threatening as the femme fatale or just as slow as the satisfactory woman...

I will go into more detail on these archetypes in my next post! :) xx