Unique Noir

Noir is a category of films and novels yet is questioned on whether it is actually a classified as a genre. A genre essentially, it is a type or class of literature. It is fairly easy to identify genres such as romance, drama, comedy, even thriller. However films and novels compile a mixture of events such as a mystery and action. So why not classifying in those genres? Noir raises the genre question because of its many antics. Noir encompasses new ideas such as hardboiled, femme fatales, and usually rainy days. Classic noir has its own characteristics, it should fall into its own genre.

Noir has many different traits that make it noir. Noir has the theme of impending doom, perfect crimes, and the idea of a femme fatale. The theme of impending doom is the notion that the characters are going to face some sort of destruction whether it be death, arrest, or even loss of love. The impending doom is ultimately negative fate. Perfect crimes, or at least the longing to commit the perfect crime is also presented. The characters commit the “perfect crime” and expect to get away with it. Other times, the main characters are solving the cases for these crimes. Either way, each crime ends with the impending doom. Femme fatales, one of the more difficult to point out, is the woman who is a danger to herself and others, rather it is because she is a damsel in distress, or a love interest.few noir pieces, the femme fatale may not always have the traits of our typical fatale, but some argue that she could be. In a  She is one of the reasons plans fall apart. She is the distraction from the crime. She is usually not our favorite character in the story… or is she. These three ideas are the main ways to identify a film or novel noir.

The novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, is about a man, Frank, who falls in love with Cora, and they plan to kill her husband the Greek in order to be together. They have the plan for the murder, which fails once, then they try again and succeed. Frank and Cora go on trail and end up getting off. Awesome right? Now, Frank and Cora are together, but they aren’t happy anymore. Cora is pregnant and they decide to try to make their love rekindle itself. Unfortunately, Cora was beginning to miscarry. While rushing to the hospital, Frank crashes the car, and Cora flies through the window and dies. Tragic. In this short synopsis of the plot, there is the crime, femme fatale and impending doom. The crime is the murder, simple enough. The idea behind the perfect crime is being able to get away with the crime. Frank and Cora attempted to kill the Greek twice, and was successful the second time. They were let off, and walked away free, with a couple thousand for the insurance on her husband. In noir however, fate plays a huge role, though is greatly ignored. After Cora’s death, which was ultimately her fate, Frank was then sentenced to death for her murder and the murder of the Greek. Things come back full circle in these pieces. Cora is the femme fatale, which is more obvious in this read than others. She is definitely a danger to others and herself. She gets her husband killed and the

The Postman Always Rings Twice is an example of the noir novels that show the perspective of the crime doer. The ideas of femme fatales is evident and the impending doom presents itself in the end. When the crime is being solved however, these ideas shift and are displayed differently. The novel, The Big Sleep, is about a man named Philip Marlowe is hired to find and stop a blackmailer from blackmailing General Sternwood, an old rich man with two daughters who will be discussed later in this paragraph. General Sternwood is old and also paralyzed, so many people take advantage of his wealth and condition. His oldest daughter, Vivian is level headed and is protective of her family. Her younger sister Carmen is more wild and oblivious. Carmen is the root cause of much of the disruption that happens throughout the novel. Her submission and naiveness puts her in situation such as drugs, pornography, and murder that Vivian and later Marlowe have to get her out of. Marlowe is what we call a hardboiled detective. Being hardboiled is a key trait that many of the detectives acquire. Hard Boiled implies the character is tough, quick, resistant. Marlowe is all of these things, and then some.

In The Big Sleep, the ideas of crime, femme fatale, and impending doom appear once again, only different from Postman Always Rings Twice. The Big Sleep posses these concepts in several ways. The crimes in the novel are not only murder, but also blackmail, kidnapping, drugs, and even though it's not a crime, pornography. As previously stated, this is the perspective of the detective, instead of the criminals. This is when the hardboiled idea comes to play. These crimes require focus, level heads. Marlowe in the novel seems to always be saving Carmen, our femme fatale. Carmen is absolutely a danger to everyone. She is the cause of these crimes.Even in the midst of trying to save her, she continues to mess up, and cause others problems. Vivian can also be considered a  femme fatale. She also saves Carmen many times, but she is also a bit dangerous because she writes the checks to the blackmailers. Before Marlowe came along, that was her way of protecting her sister. Femme fatales are also damsels, so Vivian was a damsel in distress at one point. The idea of impending doom also consist of many different situations with impending doom. First, General Sternwood is on his deathbed, and is perceived to die regardless of the outcome of Marlowe solving the case. Also, Carmen is clearly mentally ill. She is wild and her impending doom is directed at the people who want to hurt her, who ultimately end up dying.

Noir in novels are have a certain style and energy. So do the noir films. Noir films have a stylistic approach that not many movies have. There are different angles, shadows, character portrayal, and even settings that make noir unique. Two movies The Killing, and Sunset Boulevard both have visual aspects and the actors interpretation of the characters bring the feel of noir to the movie.

Noir films are signature for their use of shadows and lighting. These techniques help emphasis the important details within the scene. Because the historical film noir is in black and white, it is easier for these lighting and shadow techniques to be observed. That way, the important factors within a scene are noticed and the attention is not swayed. Shadows and lighting also play an important part in understanding the feel of the scene itself. Due to the colorlessness of classic noir, it is important for the audience to know the setting of the scene, which is why lighting becomes imperative. We know what time of day the scenes are. We know what the surrounding look like. All these details make the plot easier to understand and the visual aspect is not lost because of it.

These techniques of lighting and shadows also coincide with the idea of the angles within film noir. Angles are used to add different effect to different characters. It can be used as a power symbol, an emphasis on the background, or used to foreshadow. To show power, the camera is typically held at a low angle in relation to the person whom is being put in a powerful position. Also the stance of the character in comparison to the camera’s angle reasserts the idea of power or emphasis on certain aspects within a scene.

In The Killing lighting, shadows and angles were definitely prominent aesthetic to the film. The plot of the Killing was essentially about a robbery at a horse race track. We needed to know that this crime took place in broad daylight, which also added to the suspense of crime in full action. Also, there were different uses of shadows to show location of people and emphasis the areas scenes were in. In the scene when the sniper was shooting the horse, it was imperative to know that it was outside in the daylight, but it also used nice shadow techniques that emphasized the horses on the track so that the audience was aware of which horse we needed to focus on. Also, an important angle within the the Killing was in the beginning when all the accomplices were at the table with Philip Marlowe, discussing the plan of action. The camera was angled and placed between the shoulders of two of the gentlemen, and facing Marlowe. The angle of the character gave the impression that the audience was at the table, and actually apart of the scene, which in turn makes the audience more interested. Similarly in Sunset Boulevard, the use of shadows made scenes more dramatic, especially with the character Norma’s personality. It added extra effects to the scene, along with the angles used to give the audience a better perspective of her.

To continue, the character portrayals within film noir also assist in the classic noir dynamic. The characters within noir have a certain swag that is difficult to include in other genres of film. The idea of the hardboiled detective character reappears, along with the femme fatale. It is one thing to write about these characters, but as far as executing these character traits on film are much different. Described in books, the main male character is typically strong minded, quick on his feet, very suave, and has a certain stature. These features therefore need to be expressed by the person casted. This is the same for our femme fatale, very sexy, erect in stance, dangerous, typically thin. The actor needs to fit this description. That way, the movie is an accurate representation of the novel characters. It makes the novel come to life  and feel real.

Classic noir has an aesthetic that differs from that of other genres. Within novel noir, the theme of impending doom, perfect crimes, and femme fatale are distinguished aspects of the genre. With these ideas, it provides a certain feel of the plot of these novels. Also the stylistic approach with shadows, lighting and camera angles add character to the film itself; it adds to the effect of mystery and crime that these films portray. These techniques make noir films stand out from other films with similar themes and styles. Noir is a genre in its own unique way.