In viewing the documentary on Film Noir from the Annenberg Media website you can see that the
directors have a great appreciation of this genre of movie.I must agree that it is a very important part of the evolution of movie making.The quote by director Earl Morris is one that stands out for me and perhaps explains my longtime fascination with this genre of movies.Mr.Morris says,"We don't know what's on but we know something bad is going to happen." For me this is what typifies film noir and keeps we watching and engaged.Something bad almost always happens in the end to the characters we are following yet we watch with great anticipation.In Out of the Past the main character played by Robert Mitchum knows that he is being framed and that something bad is likely to happen and continues onward anyway.He even tells his cab driving friend that he is in the middle of a frame and continues on even though the end result is not going to be good.He says " All I can see is the frame I can't see the picture." This is the allure of the Black Film -Film Noir it seduces us to the dark sides of human emotions and behaviors.To truly understand the art of film or movies and where it is today and how it has developed we must understand the genre of the Black Film known as Film Noir.
Janey Place describes the femme fatale of film noir as a woman who is very strong ,smart, and very selfish.She is out for herself and uses the man as a tool to get what she wants.She is extremely sensual and sexual and uses her sexuality to reach her goals.Kathy Moffitt the femme fatale in Out Of The Past is a good example of this type of female character.Kathy shoots Whit and steals his money and when she is finally tracked down by the protagonist Jeff she uses her sensuality and sexuality to seduce Jeff.
I do not see Lynn in L.A. Confidential as the same type of femme fatale as Kathy in Out of the Past or the character played by Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. I could be wrong but I think that was what Janey Place had in mind in her definition and description of the femme fatale in Film Noir.That is not to say that some of the elements of the characteristics of the femme fatale are not present in Lynn just not to the extent that typifies the femme fatale of the true film noir.
The movie L.A. Confidential directed by Curtis Hanson is in a way a great tribute to the film noir genre.It is shot in color so the black and white element is not there to tip you off that this is a movie made in the film noir style.However ,the settings and locations of Los Angeles in the 50's are typical of what we see in traditional fim noir.At the begining of the movie you have voice over narrative by Danny Devito and this is another element that typifies film noir.The flawed characters are another element i see in this movie that reminds me of film noir.The corrupt police officers in the story line are another element of film noir that i see in this movie.I believe this is an attempt by the director to honor the film noir genre.The color photography masks the elements at first glance but they are there if you look for them.This was an excellent movie.
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