Film noir often tackled subjects that dealt with common underlying themes: corruption, deceit, mystery, etc (Sobchack, 271). One of the most well known and acclaimed pioneers in film noir is the movie The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941). This film was based on a private investigator, Sam Spade, hired to investigate a case. The Maltese Falcon is now viewed as the typical film noir style m

Various shots are often used to send signals to the viewer in the film. Edmund Exley is often times shot from below. This creates an angle in which Edmund's physique is distorted, making him look more powerful and more of a hero. In Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941), many shots are used from underneath the character, to make them appear more powerful and more heroic than a normal front view shot would have appeared (Schatz, 121). Likewise, shooting a subject from above creates a downward angle on the screen. This degrades the character, creating a shallow and horrible person. In LA Confidential, Hanson uses these angles for the criminals.

We can immediately see the corruption in the movie through a seemingly "cut and dry" case, when it is linked to a larger conspiracy. Like the Maltese Falcon, the movie involves a mysterious case with several twists throughout. Those twists are often established with an essential character known as the femme fatale. In The Maltese Falcon, as well as many other film noir movies, the femme fatale plays an important role in creating a character that builds in development throughout the movie.

Composition also helps in the conventions of film noir as seen in LA Confidential. Canting the shot, or using a Dutch angle, tilts the scene to one side, creating another typical uneasy event. Usually, canting a shot symbolizes that something is about to or has already gone wrong. The Dutch angles also compliment the skewed lines that are formed in the mise-en-scene. Film noir tended to use the mise-en-scene to compliment what was going on in the story at the time. Film noir took these conventions from German expressionism, which was developed in order to portray an eerie reality (Schatz, 116). Hanson uses these type of shots during the shoot-out scenes between the police force and the enemy. Another, and probably most impressive use of canting is when the police force riots against the prisoners. We are shown overhead with an abnormal angle, with the camera "jerking" us around, creating as sense of confusion.

Edmund believes that a cop should do everything by the book and honesty, where Bud White believes that as long as "justice is served," justice is served. In the movie, Bud decides to shoot a suspect, and manipulate the scene as though it appears that the suspect shot at Bud first. Bud did this to prevent the suspect from getting off on some loophole in the justice system. As it turns out, the suspect was innocent of the crime. This is another film noir convention: the first suspect is usually not the one that the protagonist is after. In addition, the LAPD distorts the truth not only in favor of "serving justice" but to make some extra money as well. Sid Hudgens pays cops like Jack Vincennes to "create" stories for Hush Hush magazine.

Lynn Bracken, a prostitute "cut" to look like Veronica Lake, plays the part of the femme fatale who aids in the development of Bud White. We see in the movie that Miss Bracken is a small town girl with real hopes, dreams, and ambitions. In some film noirs we are led to believe that the femme fatale is the destructive force which leads to the protagonist's downfall (Maxfield). In LA Confidential, Curtis Hanson uses the femme fatal as an aid to help the protagonist "mend his errors." This is the role Lynn plays aside Bud White, a cop with a weak spot for women, and a vengeance for those who beat them.

Nighttime scenes were chosen because of the mystery that comes with darkness. Night projects a feeling to the viewer that he or she would not absorb in the daytime, very much the same way horror movies play themselves upon the night. Just like the basis of the big city, film noir acts upon the conventions of mystery and suspense: it is easier for the filmmaker to play with the viewer's emotions if he or she is placed in a setting of uneasiness. The nighttime images in LA Confidential portray that anxiety and allow the mystery of

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3392
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)