Film Noir
I have always been fascinated with the dark side. That is not to say that I bow down to Beelzebuub, or Darth Vader for that matter; but as an adolescent immersed in horror movies and thrash metal music, it became apparent to me that the dark side was infinitely more interesting. I mean, how much fun is it to be sweetness and light all the time! As time went by, my maturing tastes turned to more subtle forms of artistic expression and I began to find more appreciation for the nuances of film noir, than for the shock tactics of the splatter movie. Film Noir affirms the notions that there is a dark side within us all, and that the human mind has a capacity for evil that far outweighs the threat from monsters under the bed. The Noir world is enveloped by darkness. It's streets exude a kind of underlying menace and it's characterisation confirms this notion. In Noir, the bad guys are bad, but the good guys aren't much better. It is a world for the tough and the streetwise and there is no room for emotion. The motivation is greed and it does not matter who gets stepped on in the process. Film Noir seems to me to be a realists view of the world. In real life, the good do not always triumph and the bad co
ntinue to get away with it, the greedy run amok and one does not have to look too far to see a white collar thief. Film Noir reflects the jaded cynicism of the twentieth century, a time when the evil that men do has truly come to light through the eye of the media. It continues to have relevance so long as there is darkness within us. The term Film Noir was coined in 1946 by Nino Frank, a French film critic. He used the term to describe a new narrative and visual style within some Hollywood movies during the Second World War. Frank connected films like "Double Indemnity" and "The Maltese Falcon" with the 'hard-boiled' school of writing, as exemplified by James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler, among others. In France these publications were known as 'Serie Noire'. These novels portrayed "a grittily realistic world of criminals and detectives, but it's chief emphasis was on urban sordidness and melodrama". The tales of deception and deceit were perfectly suited to the screen and "the hard-boiled writers had a style made to order for the Film Noir". John Dahl, indeed, could almost be referred to as an auteur of modern day Noir. With "Red Rock West" and later "The Last Seduction", he has refined the visual style of Noir with stunning use of light and shadow that has much in common with the Gothic fantasies of Tim Burton. "The Last Seduction" is probably the best example of what is commonly referred to as Neo-Noir. Linda Fiorentino's performance as Bridget is astounding and easily eclipses Sharon Stone's Catherine as the villainess of the nineties. It is a shame that "The Last Seduction" was deemed ineligible for Acedemy Award nomination, (due to the fact that it was originally a "made for T.V. production), as I am sure that Fiorentino would have been a favourite for the Best Actress award.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1688
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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