Film Noir Movement: Double Indemnity and Bound
This paper will explore the film noir movement by examining two films from the genre made at two different times within the movement. This will first mean looking at definitions of what classifies a film as noir and then looking at conventions of the movement such as: story, character and setting. This will explore how production value expresses the story and acts as an important filmic tool. The first movie to be discussed is Double Indemnity; the second film will be Bound. There will also be mention of other films where warranted to prove that noir in its new forms of neo-noir and independent story-telling still exists as a movement within American cinema. Before defining the term genre within the filmic context, one must look to one's self for the social, personal and psychological rules in which decisions and expectations are born. Thomas Schatz simply states, "a genre film involved familiar, essentially one-dimensional characters acting out a predictable story pattern within a familiar setting" (6). Within film history there is a distinction between genre and non-genre films. Genre films work within a reality the public can understand. John Ford was famous for saying of genre "the
Neo noir reflects changing attitudes of modern times pertaining to sex, family and relationships. Pushing the envelope to include every type of relationship not only appeals to the mass audiences but also reflects how American values have changed as the topic of sex has come out of the closet. In this respect neo noir revisits the classic story but pushes further to reveal more of the underbelly than before. These films serve to shock and upset the public but to also put that reality into the culture. Due to budgetary constraints during the 1930s and 1940s, the studio system utilized similar settings and production design for the film noir style but this only worked in its favor to define its cinematic worth. This production design style allowed the films to focus on the story and its elements. It allowed the films to focus on the drama and suspense of the situation. Borde and Chaumeton talk about the use of setting in The Maltese Falcon. They comment, "The film is shot almost entirely of interiors. In the stifling atmosphere of this closed world the imprecise nature of the motives plays an essential role" (35). It is not only the physical setting of the film that makes the movie dark and uncomfortable for the audience. The use of light and shadow foreshadows the drama as the decor of the environment is carefully and slowly revealed to the audience, therefore, building the suspense. By keeping certain aspects in the dark, leaves a feeling of uncertainty for the audience. Not everything is revealed right away and this also allows the audience to hope for a favorable outcome when the audience knows better from experience. Still it will not matter what happens to the hero, the mystery will be solved but not all questions will be answered. The director paints shadows across the faces of his cast to explore the differences between corrupt forces and the light of goodness. Much of how light is used in film noir can be seen as having symbolic significance. Mast concludes much of this crime dramas need to take place in the corrupt setting of the city or take place in "urban America as a symptom of other society's disease" (296). The use of the urban setting draws the line between the differences found in good and evil. Later on, directors would play with the idea of violence occur outside the city and in the safety of the upper crust suburbs. This juxtaposition between urban and suburban makes symbolism clearer to the audience. Dirks further elaborates "settings were often interiors with low-key lighting, Venetian-blinded windows and rooms, and dark claustrophobic, gloomy appearances" (3) while the exteriors were dark, wet alleyways, rain soaked mean streets with racy flashing neon signs or abandoned warehouses where light and shadow play mind games and tricks the audience into thinking they know something. The neo noir story involves a mystery but with more of a twist sometimes permeated with a forbidden element including homosexuality like the relationship found in the movie Bound. The story returns to the aspect of unrequited love as a great turn on.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3189
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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