Let's Face the Facts, Noir is Indeed a Genre

By: Shafrarisi Bonner

What is noir, you ask? Does legendary, extraordinary, or visionary come to mind? Maybe, you’re thinking FRENCH and BLACK. If you were, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Noir by definition is a french word for the color black. Thanks to a French critic, this term is also used to describe a genre. However, while witnessing noir through film and novels, the world wonders what exactly is ‘traditional’ or ‘classic’ noir or if it should even be considered as a genre. They have also thought that maybe these films were just unique spins on detective films or thrillers. However, through all the film noir’s I have witnessed, classic noir has no concrete definition but concrete elements. Most noir’s share dim lighting, a string of unfortunate events which include death, and a slight/deep  attraction between the main characters of the story. Not to mention that they all take place in bleak settings, Los Angeles, or an escape to Mexico! The concept of all men being detectives and women being femme fatales aren’t necessarily true. These roles are in noir, however if a storyline lacks this, it can still be a classical noir piece. Through examples such as, The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Laura, and Touch of Evil I have examined that the lack of detectives and femme fatales are not imperative. In any way, it has made me understand the true meaning of classical noir and the common themes that make them a sensation.

The Maltese Falcon, written by Dashiell Hammett, I found was able to really capture the true meaning the word noir itself. The word noir alludes mystery and dark auras. Immediately as I read this novel, I was thrusted into this realm of darkness, violence, impending doom, distrust, and lack of honesty. The story follows the life of Samuel Spade, a well known private detective. Spade, basically a playboy who seems to be very quick on his feet, has a lot of trust issues and uses the women close to him to his advantage. I found his love affair with Brigid O’Shaughnessy as a great example of this. Misses O'Shaughnessy happened to be a can of worms from the start. After Spade’s partner Archer, who was dealing with  her “case”, is killed by a mysterious man we discovered her true identity. This style of character, was something I found common in noir and wasn’t only in women who are dubbed as the femme fatale. These elements of distrust, mystery, and murder I found makes noir a hardboiled genre.

This hardboiled aspect I found stems from creativity. I found that some prime examples has also included people of a dark past. It shows people in the prime times of their lives where they experience pain, driving them to do inconceivable things. This is where I found, creates a link between pain and the thoughts of the ‘perfect crime’ in noir. In James M. Cain’s novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, I was first introduced to the main character Frank Chamber. Frank is a drifter, a man who has no responsibilities or a steady home. Despite him finding solace in his life, Frank is consistently met with loneliness, a pain that he is doesn’t realize until meeting Cora. Frank’s love for Cora, a woman who is married to a Greek man by the name of Nick Papadakis, causes him to do the unthinkable- bringing his dark thoughts to reality. He and Cora has planned to kill her husband, making it possible for the pair making a life together. However, after getting rid of one problem impending doom falls flat on Frank and Cora’s doorstep. You’re probably wondering if they were imprisoned for the murder? They weren’t, but they mentally imprisoned themselves with guilt and fear of betrayal. This fear caused Frank to murder Cora, a woman whom he loved and committed murder for. As I closely analyzed this act, I noticed how greatly it correlated with the themes of darkness and violence.

Wittgenstein’s definition of genre comes to mind whilst thinking of noir. He states that “there are no essential defining features, but only a set of family resemblances.” Noir has various resemblances, but has no concrete form and style. The style of noir has also suggested to be something related to evolving American culture. Bourde and Chaumeton sheds light onto this by stating “the elemental figure of the Scarface type, has disappeared from film noir and given way to a crown of sanctified killers” (Silver & Ursini, 21). I have seen this transition in films such as Laura (1944) and Touch of Evil (1958). Instead of being promiscuous, women started becoming virginal, hardworking, and were in steady relationships. However, this is just one of Wittgenstein’s “family resemblances”. Both films held key forms and style that classical noir embodies, such as impending doom, crime, and mystery.  As for the visual style in these films it remained “associated with low-key lighting, unbalanced compositions, vertiginous angles, night-for night exteriors, extreme deep focus, and wide-angle lenses” ( Naremore, 167).

Whilst directing, directors commonly presented scenes that show a  “limited ‘color spectrum’..”(Naremore, 175). They also used techniques that were able to bring a sense of the aura and mood within the scene. I found that this is commonly present with the use high contrast lighting. An example of this would be Otto Preminger’s film Laura. Mark McPherson, a lieutenant, is trying to unravel the case of the death of Laura Hunt, a New York socialite. However, the common theme in noir, mystery, comes to light as Laura herself appears in her living room where McPherson has been investigating. As she steps into the room the director uses the technique of deep focus paired with high contrast lighting. The deep focus and lighting allows the audience to feel the feeling of  budding love that McPherson has for Ms. Hunt. High contrast lighting reveals her beauty, alienating all the objects around her, making Laura Hunt the main subject.

The style of film noir is what makes the film captivating and is a huge importance. Noir’s traditional translation is the color black. Director’s find a way to bring this term to life with the use of various lightings, angles, and shadows. A common lighting technique in film noir is also low key lighting. The introduction of low key lighting brings mystery and is able to speak volumes to the audience. As I notice this technique, I instantly become cautious of what is going on in the scene. It is used to mark key scenes that holds great weight to the story, also. This can either be murder or violence (a constantly present theme), or an illegal exchange. I found an example of this present in Orson Welles film, Touch of Evil (1958). Touch of Evil, takes place in a city where most characters escape to, Mexico. This film tells the story of a promising Mexican narcotics detective, Ramon Miguel Vargas, and his American wife Susie, who is a target for those envying Vargas’s great skills. As Vargas is attempting to bring justice to a man who was been framed, his wife Susie is drugged and brought into a room with a Grandi, a notorious drug lord, and a crooked cop, Hank Quinlan.

As Susie is drugged, the director uses a lot of low key lighting. This common style in noir leaves the audience in suspense. What I found was unique was that with the use of low key lighting, flashes of high contrast light was used throughout the scene. This displayed struggled and the impending sense of doom which is common in noir. As Susie, is unconscious Grandi and Quinlan have started to engage in a fist fight. During this fist fight, the director also uses low angles, a common noir technique. Low angles helped to show the dominance between the fight, automatically referencing to the winner. As Quinlan and Grandi are struggling to hold dominance, the director also uses the technique of tracking also. He is able to show the movements of both characters, building into the intensity. Suddenly as the use of high contrast lighting halts, the director uses a deep focus shot showing the face of a dead Grandi.

With using this style, noir builds and continues to keep the reputation it has upheld. Film noirs hold the similar style of stark lighting, shades, medium and long shots, with also deep focus techniques. These techniques draw the audiences closer into the film and helps to develop themes of noir, which as mystery, pain, darkness, impending doom, etc. Noir however, has no plot and nor does it belong in any other category. Bourde and Chaumeton both say that noir is no “detective story”. It’s creativity sets it apart for any other genre, which makes noir its own genre. Despite not sharing cliche plots, it has so many “family resemblances”! I would say to let noir, continue to be noir.