Film analysis - Scarlet Street (1945)

Film analysis - Scarlet Street (1945)

The story follows anti-hero Chris Cross who sees a woman being beaten up and goes to save her. The woman turns out to be femme fatale Kitty whom he then takes for a drink. Chris soon falls for Kitty while she and her boyfriend Johnny plan to extort money from Chris by Kitty pursuing a relationship with him. Chris steals $500 from his wife and $1000 from his boss in order to please Kitty. Chris confronts Kitty after he sees her kissing Johnny and feeling embarrassed, he kills her. Johnny is later accused, convicted and sentenced to death for Kitty's murder. Chris spends the rest of his life being tormented by the idea that Kitty and Johnny will be together eternally and tries to commit suicide but is saved.

Scarlet Street begins by following the film noir convention of dark, rainy streets. This creates a dull and depressing setting and the viewer knows that something bad is going to take place during the film. 

When we are first introduced to femme fatale Kitty, she is seen wearing a low-cut black dress. The low-cut follows Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory as it makes an object to be looked at by both the male audience and male characters. The black is a semiotic for death and depression and so the whole dress suggests to the audience that Kitty is dangerous but also that something bad is going to happen to her. The over-the-shoulder shot still keeps Chris in frame but Kitty is still the main focus, highlighting her role as a femme fatale.

Later on in the film, Kitty is seen wearing a white dress, whilst still revealing, it connotes innocence and purity and so can be seen as ironic as whilst she is trying to portray it, she is far from innocent and pure.
"It's like falling in love I guess. You know... first you see someone, then it keeps growing, until you can't think of anyone else."

Protagonist and anti-hero Chris follows the convention of wearing a suit and looking smart. In this shot, Kitty has her hand on Chris', showing her working her charm to make him do what she wants him to do. However, this is not the main focus of the frame and so is dismissed by the audience.

When Chris sees Kitty kissing Johnny, the shot is through the window, giving the audience the feel that we're seeing something we shouldn't be and allows us to see the scene from Chris' perspective. The frame is lighter on Kitty and Johnny, making them the central focus of the shot and highlights the idea of Chris' anger and jealousy.

A problem in Kitty and Johnny's relationship is violence- a theme frequently used in film noir. This violence can be seen as a reason for the way Kitty acts so manipulative and risks ruining Chris' life in return for Johnny's love. Kitty is once again wearing white and so still comes across as innocence. A femme fatale is usually a strong character but being hit by her boyfriend makes Kitty look weak and so breaks her femme fatale act for a short while.

When Kitty is mocking Chris, we can see her reflection in the mirror. This can represent the way she's acted two-faced to Chris by acting sweet and as if she loves him to make him give her money and buy her things. This shot is mostly light apart from Chris' coat which is the darkest thing in the frame and so gives the impression that Chris is going to be the one to cause death and destruction. 
"You're old and ugly and I'm sick of you!"

After killing Kitty, Chris walks out of the apartment. The lighting becomes very dark and we are left with shadows and silhouettes which create a depressing and slightly sinister atmosphere.

The high angle shot of Chris walking down the stairs after murdering Kitty highlights the banister and gives the effect that Chris is trapped. The shadow behind the door creates tension and a potential plot twist, making the audience wonder whether Chris is going to get caught or not.

The film ends with Chris walking down the street surrounded by people who then fade away and Chris is left in the shot on his own. This reflects Chris' isolation and that he is haunted with the thought of Johnny and Kitty being together eternally in another world whilst he is left with the guilt of two deaths. The film ends on a depressing note with an uncomfortable and dull atmosphere, making this film a film noir.

"You walk around with everything bottled up."

Film Analysis - Detour (1945)

Film analysis - Detour (1945)

Being one of the first films noir, Detour introduces the archetypes of an anti hero (Al) and a femme fatale (Vera). It follows the story of Al who is going to Hollywood to join his girlfriend Sue. He hitchhikes and is picked up by Charles Haskell Jr who later on in their journey has a heart attack and dies. Al carries Charles' body to the side of the road and leaves it there with the belief that he was the reason for Charles' death. Al takes Charles' money, clothes, identification and drives off in his car. He soon picks up hitchhiker and femme fatale Vera who earlier met Haskell and blackmails him by threatening to turn him in.

Detour follows the convention of having a narrative voice over throughout from the protagonist's point of view. At the start the voice over is going on whilst we get a close up of Al's face. The light and dark contrasts allow his eyes to be the lightest part of the shot which creates a sense of mystery and brings in the idea that the eyes are the windows to the soul which can be seen as something negative and also at this point in the film, as foreboding.

Pathetic fallacy is used throughout the film to reflect on character's feelings or create a sense of foreboding. At the start fog is used to create a sense of mystery. It allows the audience to know that something bad is going to happen and so creates an uneasiness. 

Rain is also used later when Al realises that Haskell is dead. This rain creates a depressing atmosphere and makes the film more dark and gloomy. It also foreshadows that something bad is going to follow this death.
"As I drove off, it was still raining and the drops streaked down the windshield like tears."

Detour uses reflections to create suspense. The audience get a sense of foreboding and uneasiness when we see Al's reflection in the car mirror. We know something bad is going to happen and so this creates tension. The reflection is the only thing in the shot that is light and so the dark surrounding adds to the tension and mystery.

When we are first introduced to femme fatale Vera, we see her in a long shot. This allows the audience to see her in full length and so we see her provocative clothing and stance. At the time when Detour was made, Vera's short skirt would be shocking for the audience. Her white blouse is ironic as white connotes purity and innocence. However, it contrasts with her black skirt which is seen as a semiotic for death and gloom.

"I was tussling with the most dangerous animal in the world, a woman."

Detour includes the conventions of smoking and alcohol. Cigarettes and alcohol make the characters seem sophisticated. The smoke from the cigarettes can usually be used to create mystery or tension. 

Over the shoulder shots are also often used in films noir and help create tension. The over the shoulder shot of Al behind Vera can reflect on Al's guilt and the affect that Vera has had on his life. Most of the frame is dark with just part of Al's face which can highlight the idea that everyone has a good side and a dark side.

Nearer the end of the film, Detour revisits the convention of reflections. This reflection allows us to see Vera's dead body whilst outside of the reflection we see Al's reaction to her death. This gives the audience a different and interesting view on Vera's death whilst using conventions of film noir.

After Vera's death the lighting in the film becomes much darker. When Al leaves his apartment we can only see his silhouette which allows the audience to know that things won't end well for him. It creates the sense of uneasiness and adds to the depressing theme of the film. 

The film ends with Al being arrested. In the original version of Detour, Al got away with the murder but this was so far from the norm that the Hollywood Production Code forced them to change the ending. The lighting continues to be dark and so ends the film on a depressing note.

"That's life. Whichever way you turn, fate sticks a foot out to trip you."

Research - Enigma

Research - Enigma

An enigma is an unanswered question created in a film. They are used to intrigue the audience and make them want to know what has happened and why. The audience usually feels satisfied when their questions are answered during the film and so it makes the audience active.

An enigma was used in Double Indemnity when at the start all we see is protagonist Walter Neff making a confession into a Dictaphone. The audience don't know who he is or why he is confessing and so it sparks our interest. We also see later that he has been shot and every time the film returns to him there is more blood from where he has been injured. This furthers our interests and makes us want to know what happened.

We thought we could use this in our film by having the protagonist shoot someone at the start and all the audience knows is that someone's been shot, not who they are or why. This will hopefully create interest and make the audience want to watch it to find out why this has happened.

Research - Theories

Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory

The male gaze theory is the theory that female's are presented in a sexual and objectified way for the pleasure of male characters and viewers. This links to film noir as the femme fatale is ultimately a character put as an object to be gazed at. She is often wearing little or provocative clothing and generally has long hair and is wearing a lot of makeup.
"Vicious, and yet could charm you."

Levi Strauss' Binary Oppositions

The theory that conflicts between two opposing elements are set up and need to be resolved. One element within a pair is usually dominant and this pair of binary oppositions generally structure a narrative. The most common binary oppositions within film noir is good versus evil. Whilst the story lines usually follow the idea of good against evil, the lighting also reflects this binary opposition. The contrasts of light and dark, particularly in earlier black and white films, are harsh and so represent the idea of the good versus evil binary opposition within film noir.

Propp's Character theory

Propp identified a group of characters that are common in narratives to perform essential functions in the development of story lines. These characters include a hero, villain, donor, dispatcher, false hero, helper and princess. Film noir particularly subverts this theory as it included new characters such as a anti-hero, femme fatale and corrupt detectives. Detour (Producers Releasing Corporation 1945) also introduced the idea of the murderer escaping without arrest and subverting the endings of previous films but the Hollywood Production Code did not allow this and director Edgar G. Ulmer was forced to change the ending proving that films noir generally go against the stereotypical characters in Propp's character theory.

Research - codes and conventions

Background
The term 'film noir' meaning black film was originally applied by French critics to dark, doom laden Hollywood crime dramas from the 1940's. 'Black' is usually associated with things like death, mystery and despair and so we associate films noir with these themes too. Films noir usually involve money, murder and sex. We don't always know what's happening but we can tell that something bad will happen. 

The genre of film noir developed during and after the Second World War in the context of post war anxiety and cynicism. At the time when films noir were being made, there were lots of psychological discoveries being made and these had an impact on the films. By the early 50's the classic period of film noir had ended but there were still examples of  the genre being made.

Conventions
Films noir have a distinct visual style and follow certain conventions:
Low key lighting/contrasts - This creates the dark setting that shows the audience something bad is going to happen. The contrast of light against dark can reflect the good against evil nature of films noir.
Skewed camera angles - Creates a sense of uneasiness.
Shadows from blinds/railings - Creates a sense of mystery  particularly when obscuring a character's face.

Melancholy music - Helps create a sense of foreboding and despair.
Voice over narration - Helps the audience understand more about the setting and what's going on in a short amount of time.
Cigarettes/alcohol - Characters are usually seen smoking or drinking. The smoke can create tension and mystery and the drinking can make the characters seem sociable and sophisticated.
Dark streets/rain - The dark streets create a gloomy atmosphere and rain can be seen as pathetic fallacy, allowing feel a sense of foreboding.

Characters
The Protagonist - Usually a male anti-hero who is cynical and has a troubled past from which he is trying to escape. 
"a character which is on a downward spiral from which he cannot emerge" - Kathryn Bigelow
Femme Fatale - A main female character who is beautiful and charming but also amoral and double-dealing. 'Femme fatale' translates to 'fatal woman' suggesting that this character is more dangerous than she may seem.
"She's very smart, she's very powerful and she's extremely sexual" - Janey Place

Detectives, police and villains are generally all as corrupt as each other. We are shown the dark side of human nature.