UNIT 33: Fiction Production for the Moving Image

A Study of the Evolution of Film Noir, by Desmond Lynch

Unlike other mediums of film, Film Noir still causes quite a bit of debate among scholars
upon whether or not it would be classified as a genre or just as a style. The latter is believed
by Theorists such as J.A. Place [2] in which she claims that; “unlike genres, defined by
objects and subjects, but like other film movements, film noir is characterised by a
remarkable homogeneous visual style with which it cuts across genres” I agree with Place’s
claim that Noir isn’t a genre, but an overlapping movement seeping into multiple genres.
Different types of films can exhibit the influence of Noir.

Film Noir first came about during the Second World War, film makers from Germany and
Italy had emigrated to Hollywood to flee from the rise of Fascism. With it they brought their
own unique styles; German Expressionism and Italian Realism. In the merger of the two was
born Film Noir. Low budgets meant that extravagant sets couldn’t be designed, so the
cinematography of German Expressionism evolved to depend on lighting to depict mood.
Italian Realism greatly influenced the plots of these films, instead of light hearted romps that
Hollywood was used to producing- film noir made case for moral ambiguity, creating films
that displayed a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace.

The typical films of the movement followed characters such as unwitting criminals, private
detectives or law abiding citizens placed in a dangerous situation- most of whom would
encounter a woman- a Femme Fatale- who would lead them to their own destruction. The
films rarely had a happy ending, in fact often times the character ended up in a worse position
than when they started. What links these varying narratives is the overall tone; Film Noir
presents a gritty, unforgiving vision of the world. Focussing on the underbelly where moral
ambiguity is rife.

Critics believe that he Classic Period of film Noir really began [3] with “Stranger on the
Third Floor” in 1940. The Noir films often depicted the socio political concerns of the
audience that viewed them, coming out of the Great Depression their greatest concern was
organised crime- hence the interest in gangsters and organised crime in Noir. During and
after the Second World War, these films would greatly focus on the concerns of Nazism. By
the time of the Cold War the typical Noir films at the time focused on the narratives
surrounding espionage. The classic period of Film Noir is believed to have ended [3] in
Orson Welles’ “A Touch of Evil” in 1958.

Some critics firmly believe that Film Noir is a genre and that it stopped being relevant in the
1960’s, only for it to emerge now and again but never fully accepted. It’s how film critic Leo
Braudy [6] put it; “Genre films essentially ask the audience; ‘Do you still want to believe
this?’ popularity is the audience answering ‘Yes.’ Change in genre occurs when the audience
says “That’s too infantile a form of what we believe, show us something more complicated’”
if you were to believe that Film Noir is a Genre, then it undoubtedly went out of the
mainstream interest in the late 1950’s. The black and white style would vanish as new
technologies were to develop.
However, if like me you believe that Film Noir is a film movement then it has not died, it has
evolved. Take the case of Blade Runner (1982) it exhibits many of the characteristics of Film
Noir but due to the advancements of technology its has been able to build upon them, forging
something known as “Neo-Noir”. Like many of the classic Noir films, Blade Runner is a
detective story, however it hypes up the moral ambiguity by presenting the antagonists as
sympathetic characters- androids yearning for freedom. The real villain in the film is the
corporation that produces the androids, a modern day slave trader.

Like many Noir films, Blade Runner presents a bleak and pessimistic viewpoint of the world.
It differs however by placing the narrative in the not too distant future with new and exciting
technologies, it’s why the film is considered to be a science fiction masterpiece. The film also
incorporates large sets, garnering back to the influence of German Expressionism in films
such as “Metropolis” yet unlike German Expressionism, Blade Runner depicts the future as
incredibly gritty, claustrophobic and vulgar. The style of the film ushered in a new sub genre
known as “Cyber Punk”, which is greatly influenced by Film Noir. The film appeals to the
audience both emotionally and intellectually, with profound philosophical question on what it
means to be Human. The reliance on an intellectual narrative is one of the reasons Blade
runner wasn’t successful at the box office but later became a Cult Classic.

Blade Runner exhibits the same tone of Film Noir in it’s own chiaroscuro cinematography,
though instead of black and white the film has a polychrome palette [5] to depict its mood.
The use of Neon Lights for example highlights the artificial nature of the setting, adding to
the sense of claustrophobia and general unease that the film depicts. The film also highlights
the socio-political concerns that the audience faced during the original release, the rise of
corporatism, overpopulation and the effects new technology has on society as a whole. The
film also includes a Femme Fatale, though it had been switched upside down from the
traditional Noir films. The femme fatale in Blade Runner doesn’t necessarily seduce the
protagonist for her own gain, but rather the protagonist uses her. This can be seen as he
reveals to her that she is in-fact an android, shattering her entire belief system and then
following it up with an act of sexual misconduct- highlighting the moral ambiguity of the
protagonist, making the android antagonists appear much more sympathetic and human than
he is.

The Neo-Noir classic further flips the typical Noir narrative on its head by the protagonists’
revelation. At the end of the film the antagonist saves the protagonist from certain death, in
his dying words he expresses his admiration for life. A revelation that shakes the protagonist
to the core. The typical Noir film in the classic period often ended on a low note, the
protagonist was in a position much worse than the one they were in at the beginning. Blade
Runner trades this bitter ending for a bitter sweet ending, although the protagonist is now on
the run from the corporation he is also free from the drudgery of his life. The final irony is
that the femme fatale didn’t destroy his life, but rather saved it.

The influence of Noir can be noted in a modern setting as well, take for example the Netflix
TV series Daredevil. The show follows a blind lawyer garnered with enhanced abilities such
as hearing and smell as he fights crime in his New-York neighbourhood. Again, we can see
that Noir as a film movement has been able to delve into both the crime and legal drama
genre alongside the superhero narrative. The show appeals the audience with both their
emotions and senses. It uses emotions by creating emphatic dialogue and narrative devices
such as flashbacks to create a great depth of character. The show appeals to the senses
because it incorporates some fantastic cinematic techniques like long takes during fight
scenes and slow motion, especially in scenes based in the rain. The cinematography is one of
the many reasons why the show is so critically acclaimed.

The protagonist exhibits the typical moral ambiguity seen in Film Noir, as a lawyer he’s
sworn to uphold the law but by being a vigilante he breaks the law. A contradiction in his
character that makes him a troubled protagonist, dealing with his sense of what is right and
wrong.

The show also exhibits a Femme Fatale as love interest for the protagonist, an assassin that he
is both repulsed by her violent actions yet enthralled by her sense of liberty. The shows
cinematography [7] also exhibits influence from Noir. Each scene reflects a gloomy
perspective of the streets of New York, the scenes in daylight often focus on blue tones to
create a cold and miserable aesthetic while the night times scenes feature a lot of Neon Lights
creating a lot of shadows and using the Chiaroscuro lighting that was commonly seen in the
classic period of Film Noir.

It’s worth noting that the show is set in the same universe as the Avengers movies, which are
known to be bright and light hearted. Daredevil, like Film Noir, offers a glimpse at the
underbelly of this universe. The gritty street life and violence, the story focuses on the
physical and mental battles that the protagonist has to endure. With the dilemma upon
whether or not what he is doing is right or wrong, because although he’s saving lives and
making a difference he’s ultimately damaging his close relationships and his career- he often
contemplates upon whether he should fight for justice or engage in the pursuit of happiness.

What’s truly remarkable about Daredevil is that it goes to show that like Noir, the superhero
narrative is not a genre- but rather a movement in film and television that can seep into
multiple genres. The show exhibits the genre conventions of the legal drama and the crime
drama, alongside the cinematography style and tone exhibited in the Classic Noir period.
Possibly the greatest example of Noir influencing multiple Genres is the 2017 film Logan. A
Sci-Fi thriller that follows one of the characters from the X-men franchise, a man named
Logan who has the ability to heal from any wound and can retract sharp metallic claws from
his hands.

This film however takes a detour from the typical superhero blockbuster and focuses more on
a character story. Like many of the classic Noir period films, Logan deals with some of the
fears and anxieties that the audience would express in their socio-political lives. The fear of
automation, a decline in the middle class and the rise of poverty- which can be observed in
the case of Laura, the little girl that the protagonist is forced to take care of. When we meet
her she is literally homeless, living out her life in a poorly kept motel room. The story also
focuses on more personal concerns, such as old age and senility. The protagonist has
succumbed to the perils of middle-aged, his healing factor has severely declined. When he
was younger he could survive an atomic bomb but now he can barely survive a paper cut.

You can observe this physical decline in the opening scene, in which the protagonist has
difficulty retracting his claws due to arthritis. A poetic sign of impotence, of insecurity and
ultimately exhaustion. It’s later revealed in the film that this decline in his physical health is
caused by the metal claws in his body, it’s ironic that the thing that gave him strength is
ultimately killing him. An allusion that the audience can subconsciously connect with as they
share concerns with fuel resources, about how fossil fuels have helped usher in technologies
that usher in an age of enlightenment- and yet their excessive carbon emissions have warmed
the planet to such a degree that we may face our own extinction within a few centuries. Ironic
that something that gave us strength is ultimately killing us.

In this regard the film appeals more to the audiences’ emotions than rather their senses or
intellect. Although it does posses some intellectual devices in the narrative, such as the bleak
perspective of a fully automated world, the harsh reality of living in a corporatist state and the
philosophical question of whether or not a person can truly change, or even stay changed for
very long. The film is also quite violent; the gore is one of the main reasons the film gained
an R rating. The violence appeals to the sense and it pleased many fans of the character, but
it’s not the main driving force behind the film.

The film is ultimately a personal family story. It’s about a morally ambiguous protagonist
who has to look after his mentor and father figure as he becomes progressively more senile.
He acts as if he carries out this burden as an act of duty, rather than an act of love. The
protagonist faces both a severe depression and declining health, he even reveals later on in
the film that he has considered suicide almost constantly- not carrying through with it
because no one else could look after his mentor. The narrative becomes even more
emotionally complicated when a little girl is drawn into the mix and the Protagonist has to
begrudgingly become a father. All these factors appeal to the audiences’ emotions and their
deepest fears; the burden of looking after your elderly loved ones, the difficulty of
parenthood, the fallacies in the pursuit of happiness and ultimately; the fear of death.

The film exhibits the classic tropes of both the Western and the road movies that were
common in the 70’s[10] with the bulk of the movie centring around rural areas with the
inclusion of many wide shots depicting the vast wilderness, the saloon replaced with a casino
and the trusty stead replaced with a run down limousine. The director based the narrative of
classic Westerns such as Shane, even going so far as to link them in a sense of intertextuality-
drawing comparisons between the loner gunman and the clawed protagonist, both searching
for peace yet all they can find is violence.

Logan exemplifies the difficulty of Noir being defined as a genre, since unlike the Western,
Noir isn’t defined by its setting- but rather it’s tones and style. The film notably uses the style
of Noir, in fact the director went out of his way to shoot each scene as if it were a black and
white film. The use of chiaroscuro lighting is noted in the more violent scenes, again
expressing the moral ambiguity and gritty atmosphere that Noir films are known for. Lighting
is an important mode of establishing the mood of the film, certain scenes use pillars of light
to signify how stuffy and claustrophobic the protagonists environment is, as if they were
barely keeping afloat.

The Noir tropes continue with the protagonist’s alcoholism, which interlinks to the classic
private eye with a drinking problem. The movie, like Blade Runner, also plays upon the
audiences fears of the rise of corporatism by literally making the villain a corporation. It also
raises the questions exhibited in Blade Runner about humanity and personhood, for example
a man may be a human but that doesn’t automatically grant him the right to personhood. A
clone might not be human but they can still be a person. The film brilliantly portrays the
complexities of human relationships, the fear of mortality and intimacy while also
incorporated themes and tones that are undoubtedly influenced by Noir.

A great example of where Noir and a Western blend can be found in the anthology series
True Detective, a show that takes up multiple genres such as mystery, crime and Detective
fiction alongside mixing with the sub-genre of Sothern Gothic. The show exhibits many traits
of the classic period of Film Noir. Like many of these movies the story focuses on a detective
with moral ambiguity and a pessimistic outlook on the world, however True Detective ups
the ante by portraying a protagonists who isn’t just pessimistic but borderline nihilistic, often
blurring the line between him and the psychotic killer that he chases. Just like in Blade
Runner we’re presented with a Protagonist so morally grey that we aren’t sure he’s deserving
of sympathy.

The show uses the audiences sense to add an appeal to the narrative, since the protagonist
suffers from hallucinations- the surreal visions he sees adds a personality to the show that
other TV series’ sorely lack. However, where the show mainly appeals to audiences is on
both an emotional and intellectual basis. The narrative itself is grim, the tone of the show
itself is always bleak and the characters are forced to experience hell before they get to their
objectives. The show appeals to the pessimistic perspective of the protagonist, a story that
shows how hope in humanity is ultimately futile.

The story appeals to the viewers’ emotions by incorporating what every other detective story
has done up until this point; get two people with totally different wold views and ideologies
and force them to work together. The two protagonists are incredibly different; one is a
family man who believes that he can make the world a better place, the other is an amoral
widower and a self nihilist. They bicker about almost everything; Religion, Philosophy,
Motivations etc. This compelling dialogue doesn’t just wash over the viewer, it lingers-
because it appeals to their intellectual concerns, fears and hopes.

The show incorporates many of the camera angles inhibited in Film Noir, such as low angle
shots and Dutch angles. Alongside low key lighting mixed with cool blue and yellow tones to
create a cold and lonesome perspective of the world at large. Like many Classic Noir films
the protagonist begins in a solemn, seemingly hopeless place. But instead of venturing into a
place where they are much worse off, True Detective instead decides to present a narrative
that despite its grim and violent tendencies is ultimately optimistic in nature, despite the
horrors it endures along the way.

The most notable thing about the evolution of Film Noir isn’t necessarily the Technical
Wonders that it can achieve, but rather the different types of narratives it can present. Unlike
other Genres and Film Movements, Film Noir can influence so much of media that can
ascend viewer’s tastes. When audiences eventually do tire of Superhero blockbusters, Sci-Fi
romps and Detective Mysteries- it’s safe to say that Film Noir will still be alive and well.
References:

[1] The Literature of Genre Theory and Film Noir;

http://afc-theliterature.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/genre-theory-and-film-noir.html

[2] J.A Place & L.S. Peterson on the Visual Motifs of Noir;

Place, Janey, Peterson, Lowell, Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir, Film Comment; Jan/Feb
1974; 10,1; Platinum Full Text Periodicals pg. 30

[3] Film Noir didn’t die, it evolved. Ballinger and Graydon (2007), pp. 19–53. The beginning
of the Classical Period, pg 19.

Ballinger, Alexander, Graydon, Danny, 2007, The Rough Guide to Film Noir, Rough Guides,
ISBN: 1843534746, 9781843534747

[4] Development of Noir into Neo-Noir

Schwartz, Ronald (2005). "Neo-Noir The New Film Noir Style from Psycho to Collateral",
The Scarecrow Press Inc.

[5] How Colour helps express Neo Noir, a Polychrome Palette

Williams LR. The erotic thriller in contemporary cinema, pg 229. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press; 2005.

[6] Leo Braudy discusses Genre

Braudy, Leo, The World in a Frame; What we see in Films, University of Chicago Press,
1977, Pg 179

[7] Interview with Daredevil’s Director of Photography;

http://lospaziobianco.com/844-daredevil-lights-and-shadows-interview-to-martin-ahlgren-
cinematographer/

[8] Interview with Blade Runner Cinematographer

https://theasc.com/magazine/mar99/blade/pg1.htm

[9] Interview with Logan Director

https://nofilmschool.com/2017/03/logan-ama-director-james-mangold

[10] Interview with Logan Cinematographer

https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/logan-cinematographer-john-mathieson-interview/

[11] True Detective Cinematogragher breaks down specific scenes

http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/true-detective-cinematographer-9-shots-adam-arkapaw.html