Having read Paul Schrader's Notes on Film Noir, please discuss Double Indemnity and your choice of another film noir that Schrader talks about (check Netflix, Internet Archive, Amazon Prime, YouTube). Discuss, in at least 4 well-developed paragraphs, the films' implicit meanings and how the directors portray these meanings cinematically. Be sure to use a lot of visual examples (camera angles, shot composition, movement, editing, sequencing, lighting, mise-en-scene, etc.). Look at the representations of the characters and issues. Ask yourself, Why? For example, Why did the director choose to light a scene a certain way? Why is a particular character dressed the way he/she is? What is the purpose of the setting? Etc. Include one quote from Schrader's essay.
In order to make this a manageable task, choose a 5-minute scene from each film and focus on that scene and how it relates to the film as a whole. Also, find a review written at the time of the film's release and include one quote.
Remember, this exercise is preparing you for the Presentation assessment (only one year away!).
In case you don't have the Schrader essay, you can find it here: http://ubuntuone.com/0eij9pdtWkxT2y7P7xpASD
Due: Monday, January 13
Film Noir is not a genre but a tone, or a time period that the average American filmmakers mindset was shrouded in darkness. Generally these films were dark, twisted and sometimes evil. In Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) the audience is following the story of insurance fraud and murder, we are almost cheering for the backwards romance of Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson. In Raw Deal (Anthony Mann, 1948) the story follows a ex convict, jail escapee, gangster, murderer. Not necessarily an upstanding citizen. But in the end both of these corrupt people end up dead, serving them right for their morally crooked decisions. Or should the audience be upset at their deaths because they wanted the guy and girl to ride off into the sunset together? Both of these plotlines are perfect for the dark nature of Film Noir.
ReplyDeleteDouble Indemnity implicitly tells us a story of temptation, Walter Neff a successful insurance salesman is tempted into crime by the femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson. Saying that love (from a more Freudian perspective, sex) can make a man do anything. This mindset is displayed by how Phyllis is presented. When she first enters the film she has almost an angelic presence to her, she is wearing a white towel, her hair is glowing and she is even framed by the archway behind her. She is standing up on a balcony, making her physically higher, in addition to the high angle shot of her. With a low angle shot of Neff, making her seem more powerful than him. Her sex appeal is then reinforced when the Neff walks into the light. His face is lit up and then the next shot is of Phyllis’s legs, a very sensual body part. The Kuleshov Effect in action. Then as though she was not displayed sensually enough, she had not finished buttoning up her shirt. “As in German Expressionism, oblique and vertical lines are prefered to horizontal” (Notes on Film Noir by Paul Schrader, 1972), this is put to use in the shot of Phyllis’s legs. The guardrails act as these vertical or oblique lines, saying something about the evil, restless nature of this women. Although the shadows of the Venetian are horizontal they could be said to still be influenced by the German Expressionism period being that they are abnormal.
Raw Deal implicitly deals with moral struggle between good and evil. Ann is a good citizen, working as a social worker when she falls in love with convict Joe Sullivan. She attempts to remain strong throughout the film morally, which is difficult under the circumstances. In the scene that Joe goes to Ann’s house and sneaks up to her bed he is a completely black. This is the essence of film noir. Joe almost looks like he is a silhouette, reinforcing his dark character and the mysterious motive of him entering her bedroom. Another prominent shot in the film are the shots of the head gangster, Rick. There are multiple occurrences of very similar high angle shots, making him more intimidating and seem more powerful. The first time that the viewer looks down on him is when he is falling out the window, to his death. There is one thing that makes this Film noir standout among the rest, it is that the narrator is a female rather than the usual male. In addition to that there is “ a quasi-homme fatale” (Roger Westcombe review on Raw Deal).
Both of these films are staple Film Noir, containing all of the basic aspects of this period. These films follow the basic Film Noir style; use of striking/angular shadows, smoke, unsettling narrative, dark composition and conflicted anti heroes.
Film Noir is/was a style of film that didn’t so much give off a vibe as it instilled a mood of pessimism in the viewer. The term generally applied to American detective/thriller films and also to the work of directors such as Welles, Lang, and Wilder. In Double Indemnity, the viewer follows the story of Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson as they attempt to pull off a murder that could potentially set the pair for life. Out of the Past shows Jeff Bailey, local gas station owner, and his being framed for murder. These are two of the most definitive exemplary plotlines one could find to describe film noir.
ReplyDeleteImplicitly, Double Indemnity tells us how quickly doing something wrong can come back to bite us in the ass. Going even deeper into the meaning of the film, I personally think it was a take on the greed of America and how if we continue to care so much about money it will all not even matter anymore. At the beginning of the film we see Phyllis as what is known in the noir genre as a “fem fatale” a damsel in distress if you will. As you move through film noir movies you see the fem fatale transform into the antagonist of the film. Double Indemnity is no exception. Phyllis turns on Walter and tries to kill him but fails as he actually ends up killing her out of defense. So another possibility as to the hidden meaning could be women’s role in society but this is far more apparent in the film and not as implicit as other things.
Out of the Past’s implicit meaning tells us that we can not trust any random person we see walking down the street, or talk to on the phone. We need to keep a certain confidentiality to our lives to stay safe. Another take could be that the world is too focused on independence and people need to make a stronger effort to come together and work as a whole (NOT COMMUNISM THOUGH).
Film Noir can be interpreted many ways, but in my opinion there is only one real way to look at it because they are sort of all the same/at least similar. Most Film Noir gives off the same dark pessimistic mood that doesn’t really change throughout the movie. Film Noir is essentially just a throwback detective genre to me.
The film Double Indemnity follows strictly with the codes of Schrader’s idea of film noir. The scenes are lit darkly, there is a tough sense of realism, disillusionment is a key feature of the film. Walter is always trying to keep Mrs. Dietrichsen with him although she never truly was to begin with. As stated in the essay “manipulation of time...is often used to reinforce the noir principle”. This is true in the film because we already know at the beginning of the film that Walter is doomed to meet his demise because of Mrs. D and because of this we note each of her facetious glares and her manipulative maneuvers thereby reinforcing our understanding of the lesson in the film.
ReplyDeleteThe nature of Mrs. Dietrichsen being a femme fatale is extremely clear in the film. Her face is often shown lit darkly and sometimes with soft light to either show her for who she is or attempt to hide it. Her outfits after first meeting Walter, in her towel, are meant to be extremely attractive to him and to lure him in to continue helping. And of course, her nature of acting demonstrates her almost evil nature. Of course because of the time manipulation of the film and Walter’s inevitable doom it is clear that she is the femme fatale for the duration of the film. When talking to Walter, the camera movement is done so that we see her face and he does not. In these instances it is clear that she is lying or that she will begin to grin from what she’s said.Bosley Crowther stated in a 1944 interview of Double Indemnity states that she is ”a destructively lurid female...[and] the gent...falls precipitately under her spell”.
The film's scenes are generally quite dark but one is exceptionally so and for quite a point. The final scene in the film presents Mrs. Dietrichsen at her worst and ready to kill Walter. She sits in an extremely dark room with blinds cast over it and a gun ready beneath her. When Walter arrives he admits that she was thinking about murder while he was thinking of the ankle which shows her clear motive throughout and his disillusionment and his desire for her which blinded his judgement. The dark tones of the lighting signify the dark tones and the finality of the scene itself.
In the Maltese Falcon (1941), the femme fatale Brigid is much more disguised. She is never lit darkly, we hardly see her acting strangely and her overall design scheme is as a nice person. That is why it is much more shocking to the viewer when she turns on Sam. Bosley Crowther describes her as “a beautiful but evasive dame in a complicated plot”. This is a very characteristically femme fatale definition which shows the films great use of the idea of femme fatale.
Both films use the femme fatale to create the theme and the lesson to be learned from the film. Double Indemnity’s dark lighting and dark theme create a very good film and an even better film noir.
Film noir describes a cinematic time period that began in the 40's. This style of film is characterized by it's dark stories, bleak outcomes, and twisted characters. One of the many famous films to emerge from this time was the famous "Double Indemnity". This landmark film is a perfect example of the type of film to come out during the film noir period. It features a broken protagonist, a seductive wife, and plenty of murder. These are just a few of the things that factor into what makes this film truly a film noir.
ReplyDeleteIn noir films, the protagonist is often pushed to moral extremes and criminal action by the femme fatale. In indemnity's case, the femme fatale is Phyllis Dietrichson. In one scene of this film, Walter, the protagonist, asks Phyllis to visit his home, but, Neff's boss decides to come over unexpectedly. This creates an intense scene that showcases some of the best points of film noir. Here we see Phyllis's calculating nature. Previously, she has had Neff fight her bettles for her, but, this scene shows her in an entirely different light. WHen she arrives at Neff's house, the audience expects her to simply walk in and spoil the whole plan. Instead, she stops and listens in on the conversation. It should also be noted that there is an exaggerated shadow behind Phyllis in this scene, a trademark of film noir. When Keyes leaves the room, we see an interesting shot in which we can see both Phyllis behind the door and Neff in front. In every successive shot, we continue to see Phyllis behind the door. the door provides no shadow over her and she is constantly lit. This heightens suspense greatly as both, she, and Neff, are constantly in danger of being caught. As stated in Schrader's essay, "Compositional tension is preferred to physical action." This scene is no exception as the placement of Phyllis onscreen is what creates tension rather than the physical movement of characters.
Another film noir Schrader praises is Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil". Touch of Evil's opening sequence is famous for its extremely long single tracking shot. In this scene we see many characters in a very dark environtment. Schrader states that everything in a film noir is lighted as if it were nighttime. So, it is very stereotypical of a noir to open with a shot at night. This dark lit shot is finished off with an exploding car. We do not know why this car is explosing at this point, but we can assume it will become part of the twisted mystery of this classic noir film.
In conclusion, film noir has been characterized by many films across time. Two of which are Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil. These films are made noir by their femme fatales, dark lighting, and focus on composition within shots.