How to recognise Film Noir and Neo-Noir
- Deconstructing English
- Sep 5, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 10, 2020
On this particular occasion, I had to deliver a speech about Film Noir. I chose to focus my main attention not so much on its history, but on the techniques that make it distinguishable among other film genres. In this case, I will leave below a list of bullet points that will help you recognise either a classic Noir film or a relatively new Neo-Noir one. I have also attached a PowerPoint presentation that I’m sure you will find useful, as it has some images and film recommendations that will allow you to see the Noir techniques in all their glory.
Film Noirs were marked visually by:
Interplay of light and dark: accomplished by high-contrast photography and low key lighting. A high-contrast photograph purposefully includes strongly contrasting elements. In black-and-white photography, a high-contrast shot will have relatively few gray tones, but lots of strong blacks and whites. Low key light accentuates the contours of the subject by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast.
Deep-focus: In deep focus the foreground, middleground and background are all in focus. The use of close-ups, for instance, forces the viewers to pay attention to one object in the frame. Deep focus achieves the opposite effect placing a huge emphasis on mise-en-scene.
Shadows: shadows are not simply a dark mass that borders the light. Rather, shadows are an entity as alive as the light. It is the shadows that draw attention to the light, and that integrate with the light to produce striking dramatic effects. They are used to focus the viewer’s attention, directing the eye, revealing form and texture.
Dutch camera angles: they have a sloping or skewed angle, which means that horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame. This produces a viewpoint akin to tilting one’s head to the side and it is often used to portray psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed.
Low-angle shots: to make the subject look strong and powerful
Wide-angle lenses: to emphasise the difference in size or distance between objects in the foreground and the background; nearby objects appear very large and objects at a moderate distance appear small and far away. This exaggeration of relative size can be used to make foreground objects more prominent and striking, while capturing expansive backgrounds.
Interiors with low-key (or single-source) lighting: often rooms with and dark, claustrophobic, gloomy appearances.
Venetian-blinds
Mirrors: the characters are often mirror images of each other (Citizen Kane: Kane’s personality is also heavily fragmented and diverse, filled with contradictions and differences. )
Urban night scenes: with deep shadows, wet asphalt, dark alleyways, rain-slicked or mean streets, flashing neon lights, and low key lighting. Murky and dark streets, dimly-lit. The city is presented as a “labyrinth” or “maze”.
Fog/rain: used to create an abandoned-looking atmosphere, as well as to heighten the mystery and anticipation for what could be lying in wait in this scene.
Because its stylistic elements are applicable to a wide range of plots, film noir has never gone out of fashion. While purists may argue that true film noir is black and white, the same high contrast can be obtained by creating a colour scheme where black and white predominate. Conscious acknowledgement of the classic era’s conventions is what puts the “neo” in neo-noir, according to many critics.
The movie Memento is one such example of a neo-noir film. Directed by Christopher Nolan in the year 2000, the plot revolves around a man named Leonard who has lost his short term memory and is searching for his wife’s killer to seek vengeance. He is helped along the way by a corrupt police officer named Teddy and a potential femme fatale named Natalie.
pessimistic, hopeless, bleak plot
antihero: lonely, confused, troubled protagonist, alienated and filled with existential bitterness, trapped in an unwanted situation, doomed
Amnesia
crime: murder
a crime investigation by a private eye (Leonard) and a corrupt police detective/officer (Teddy)
false suspicions and accusations of crime, betrayals, paranoia, deception (don’t trust Teddy)
suspense: we want to know why Teddy committed this murder
non-linear storyline: the story is told backwards
black and white scenes for flashbacks and chronological scenes
shadows and contrast between light and dark in coloured scenes: use of dull and soft colours
Voice over narration
grim settings: motel (where he lives), an abandoned warehouse, a scantily populated town (loneliness)
Interiors with low-key lighting/venetian blinds/mirrors
femme fatale: Natalie, who manipulates Lenny
Works Cited
Dick, B. F. (2004). Anatomy of Film. Bedford/St. Martin’s
Tudor, A. (1975). Theories of Film. London: Martin Secker & Warburg Limited
Conard, M.T. (2007). The Philosophy of Neo-Noir. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky.
Film Noir. Retrieved from file:///home/raq/Documentos/Diplomatura/Theatre/Supplementary/Film%20noir%20at%20AllExperts.htm
Film Noir. Retrieved from file:///home/raq/Documentos/Diplomatura/Theatre/Supplementary/Film%20Noir%20-%20Films.htm
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