Defining Noir ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ : Something to Discuss

Describing the history of noir can be agreed on by many authors in film studies. It comes from German Expressionism, French philosophies, and hard-boiled fiction of authors such as Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain. There is no doubt that this cinematic legacy quickly rose to its popularity when World War II was happening as noir’s most common themes contain doubt, fear, and paranoia; a clear result of the troubles brought from war for everyone. However, it has been an ongoing debate on whether or not to define noir as a genre. Definitions seem so concrete these days that it is no wonder why there is a sort of anxiety with determining what it means when we say, ‘noir’, which is why this issue is so important to discuss. Initially, I was content with describing it as a genre for its similar elements throughout novels and films; an alienated anti-hero, femme fatale, the perfect crime, and an impending feeling of doom throughout the plot all contribute to this term. Many people have taken different sides in agreeing that noir is indeed a genre or even a style. Although it is plausible to classify noir as these things, a more concrete term to connect it to would be mood. Though I admit that it is easy to classify noir as a genre or style with its repeating content elements, I believe it would be stronger defined as a mood because of the combination of both realms. While some may argue that it is either-or, not both, I will show that it cannot be by determining what is really important to noir in both novels and films because it is unnecessary to focus on the content but rather the way the genre and style create and ultimately affect the mood.

So…Genre

Out of the Past (1947) is a typical example of a film noir. It demonstrates the typical use of cinematography techniques (i.e. mis en scene) with low key lighting and use of shadows as well as witty dialogue between characters. In this film, Jeff is a former detective who has been pulled from a small-town life and thrown back into his life of danger. Not only do flashbacks and a bleak ending occur in this film, it follows the narrative template of other film noir shows, such as, finding oneself in a dangerous situation and thanking his downfall to the one and only femme fatale. James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) also continues this same narrative template even as a novel. Frank, our protagonist, has an affair with Cora, the femme fatale, and coaxed into killing her husband. The repeating pattern of templates, characters, flashbacks, and crime make it easy to define noir as a genre.

Compared to Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (1929), one of the earliest examples of noir with its common characters, complex storylines, and bleak resolution. Our hard-boiled detective, Spade, works on finding a priceless artifact while dealing with femme fatale, Brigid, and competing against antagonist, Guttmann. This should be evidence for it being added to the side of noir being a genre but because the ending in both John Huston’s adaptation in 1941 and the novel are relatively positive for Spade, it is not. He does not end up having a tragic death and succeeds against Brigid who is taken away to prison. Yet, the music swells with melancholy notes in the film as Spade turns away from Brigid in the hands of the police. In the novel, he is described as being in a similar state of distress; “his face was pasty in color, but its lines were strong and cheerful and his eyes, though still somewhat red-veined, were clear.” So even though there were no major repercussions with our anti-hero, this bleak ending continued to emphasize the aura of doom throughout both works in writing and film. While Out of the Past and The Postman Always Rings Twice have similar bleak endings, they have different outcomes. The physical, violent outcome versus the mental, distressful ends both relate to the genre and the way effect the outcomes have on the mood of the audience and noir.

Before Huston’s 1941 adaptation, there were two film versions in 1931 and 1936 that were not as popular and widely known. In these versions, more humor and seduction dialogue are more apparent while there are much darker jabs in Huston’s. Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of Spade was more scornful and true to Hammett’s novel. With the success of this adaptation, Huston’s film was able to pave the way for future noir films who follow the gritty undertones and dark stylistics. These fatalistic elements proved to be attractive to the audience about noir.

            Femme fatales are a common trope in noir films, the beautiful seductress who causes the downfall of the man. Now, in Laura (1944), the antagonist of the film, obsessive Waldo Lydecker, ends up shot and dying while the hard-boiled detective, McPherson, and Laura end up together. It is debatable to call Laura a femme fatale, as she proves to be a danger to herself and others, but she does not betray or double-cross our protagonist. In Sunset Boulevard (1950), Norma tries to keep Joe to stay at her lonely mansion and help reinstate her once famed reputation. Norma ends up murdering Joe when he attempts to leave and run away with his love, Ruth. These two films are classified as film noir, but they do not contain the femme fatale. It proves that this character is not necessarily pertinent to film noir although it is seen in several other works. What could be better used, would be the division of these portrayals of women; mysterious or evil. Certainly, Laura and Norma are mysterious women while Brigid in The Maltese Falcon and Kathie in Out of the Past are evil females, but we cannot group the femme fatale as an important factor to noir. We can, however, allow the allure and temptation of these women to contribute to the mood and attraction of noir.

And…Style

            Naremore views noir as a style for its “visual style…with low-key lighting, unbalanced compositions, vertiginous angles, night-for-night exteriors, extreme deep focus, and wide-angle lenses…” (pg. 167).  Lighting was kept to a minimal with the high contrasts of shadows and lights with both the characters and the environment. It gives off an impending sense of doom when the obscured character slinks from the shadows into the spotlight or the female character is wrapped in a bright light. One example could be in Laura, when McPherson gazes longingly at her painted portrait, where she too has a glow around her even though is not physically present in that scene. As an overall representation in the film, low-key lighting plays an important effect because it contributed to the feeling of doom, unease, and danger. It contributes to the protagonist as he is draped in shadows that add to his characterization of moral ambiguity.

Camera angles also contribute a great deal to the stylistic features of noir. Specifically, low angle shots are regularly used in these films because they allow the subject or character in that shot to appear as powerful as they can be. This technique can be used for nearly any character (protagonist, love interest, or villain) because it allows the audience to see a characterization within a shot. In other words, the varying positions in power at different times throughout the film’s progression. A great example would be the scene in Double Indemnity (1944) where Neff, an insurance salesman, meets Phyllis, a married woman who eventually tricks him into helping commit a murder against her husband so they may be together. When Neff arrives at her house in the beginning of the movie, he is on the ground level and suddenly introduced to his blonde beauty in nothing but a towel on top of a balcony. Right away, we see her sexual prowess and power in that realm from not just her lack of clothing, but the emphasis of the camera angles on her position. We are constantly looking up at her but then we are constantly looking down at Neff when the camera switches back and forth between the two characters. As this film begins with Neff limping with a shoulder wound, we can guess that Phyllis will have some connection to this disability of his even though we met her in five minutes. Later, it is revealed that she had did indeed shot Neff during a pivotal point in the movie in the middle of a confrontation between the two. However, when Neff gains the upper hand and manages to kill her, the angles change to seeing her at a lower position, and him at one of a higher stance.

Dutch angles can be seen when a character is in a state of instability or despair. This shot occurs when the camera is tilted up at the character instead of being vertical or horizontal. It is different from the low-angle shot because it creates an off-focus position and feeling of unease. While that low-angle is evenly kept at a stable level, the Dutch angle’s position is more off centered. In Touch of Evil (1958), the antagonist is a corrupt cop has been discovered to planting evidence and contributing to a couple of wrongful murders. When he is shot by his dying partner, he stands up with wobbly legs while the camera takes shots in this type of angle because it demonstrates how uneasy he is feeling both physically and mentally.  We are proven right when he falls to his final death in a pool of dirty sewage water.

Mirror reflections are another big part of noir films and are most commonly used with the femme fatale. As explained by the name, mirror reflections occur when a character is shot in the reflection of a mirror. By doing this shot, it can reflect the two-sidedness of a female character and leave her even more mysterious. Sunset Boulevard (1950) uses this shot multiple times to demonstrate Norma’s two sides, one that she is familiar with and still a famed actress, with the other being a mentally unstable woman. How she views herself is completely different from how others view her, and this disillusionment is seen repeatedly in these shots.

Mood and Conclude

            Combining both realms of genre and style contribute to the mood and the definition of noir. When someone is interested in a movie, they pay attention to both the content and the production of the film. Even if drawn in by the idea of a horror movie, for example, they do not look for only the spooky plot devices or the impending jump-scares. They take in both for consideration which ultimately determines the mood of the film and whether or not that ‘mood’ fits in with their own ‘mood’. To clarify, an audience member has a particular emotion that they want to see manifested in a movie, and they prioritize that feeling above the plot or editing as separate entities. Uniting both genre and style allows the viewer to judge that aura and mood of a movie to their own feelings and mood.

An example of this cinematic union can be seen in Out of the Past through the high contrast lighting (style) to further differentiate our characters (genre). High contrast lighting was a useful technique as it benefited “the need to keep the various objects on the screen from blending into one another…” as there was a “limited ‘color spectrum’ available to the camera…” (Naremore 175). With the foreground and background lit in different settings, the camera can emphasize the subject that the director wants the audience to focus on. One example is Kathie’s appearance in the Mexico restaurant. Shielding her face from the camera with a hat, we see a tight, white outfit that blends into the background, making it hard to see the scene’s subject. As she walks in, we get to see her better and she steps into a shadow, instantly transforming her from this angelic aura to a dark, mysterious one. Even when she moves closer to the lit tables, her hat covers her face and casts a shadow that implies her two-sidedness and hidden intentions.

 Going back to the literary works of noir and hard-boiled fiction, The Postman Always Rings Twice provides a different perspective of noir and mood through the genre and style in a completely different way, especially towards the femme fatale. Cora is described as not of any particular kind of attractiveness, “except for the shape, she really wasn’t any raving beauty, but she had a sulky look to her” (Cain, 4). With this vague and unflattering description, it leaves a feeling of confusion but the sexual desire remains for she has lips that make him “want to mash them in for her” (Cain, 4). However, this portrayal does not detract from Cora’s multiple acts of agency as she manipulates Frank into doing many things for her. Genre becomes apparent with her obvious role as the femme fatale and mysterious/evil female while style comes through in a subtler way. As Frank and Cora continue their tumultuous affair of sexual adventures and murder opportunities, the feeling of hopelessness continues to linger as they try to evade the police. There are no lighting or camera shots to be discussed but with the description of characters and actions, comes the contribution to the impending mood of doom. Take Cora’s abrupt death scene, for instance.

“I couldn’t pass on the left, because a whole line of cars was coming toward me. I pulled out to the right and stepped on it. She screamed. I never saw the culvert wall. There was a crash, and everything went black.”

Frank’s description (Cain 112) composed of compound sentences and transitioning into simple, back to compound at the very end adds to the dramatic effect. You can see the imagery in your head as you read this horrifying paragraph that you know it will lead to an unhappy ending. The violent description of “her blood, pouring down on the hood…” allow feelings of complete hopelessness and despair (Cain 112). No, there cannot be any discussion of the lighting and angles, but there is plenty of room for the writing style contributing to the dark mood.

Noir is known for both its dark visual style and equally dark thematic content. It first began with German expressionism and made its way into the post-war years of France where the term described a particular set of films produced in Hollywood. These works of art were fully blanketed in a cynical tone with dark undertones. Repeating elements are seen in both the generic content and visual style; alienated anti-heroes and complex plots go hand in hand with powerful camera angles and shadowy lighting. However, it is crucial to the definition of noir, that we do not only use the term genre or style as the full definition. With the combination of both genre and style, it creates the mood and the meaning of noir.