Neo-Noir is a term used to describe films that were released past the classic “noir” period. Usually they are dark American crime films that contain a male detective and a female character that plays the role of the “femme fatale”. These films use different styles of film making to create a dark and morbid tone. Tilted camera angles, the use of light and shadows and recurring motifs can be used to distinguish Neo Noir films from the rest. Double Indemnity, was a classic example of film Noir and distinguishable features of this film are also found in Neo Noir films such as Chinatown, and Devil in a Blue Dress.
Besides the fact that all three of these films are American based crime stories. The characters in these films are probably one of the best indicators of Film Noir. In Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity the male detective role is played by Barton Keyes as he tries to discover what truly happened to Mr. Dietrichson. The Femme Fatale role is filled by Mrs. Phyllis Dietrichson as she and Walter Neff, an insurance salesman, plan and execute the murder of her husband to reap the rewards from the life insurance company. In this film betrayal is taken to a whole new level as a wife plans the murder of her husband. The film is also from the perspective of Mr. Neff, so the audience has built an emotional connection to the “bad guy” of the story. The audience will most likely get caught rooting for the man who has just commited a crime worthy of the death penalty. In Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, the male detective is played by Jake Gittes. A Detective called upon by the femme fatale of the story Evelyn Mulwray who wants to bring to light her husband’s affair. This story is also chock full of twists and turns in the plot. One of the biggest of which is when it is discovered that Evelyn is not who she says she is, and she is actually the product of a secret incestual relationship between the real Evelyn and her father. Finally in Carl Franklin’s Devil in a Blue Dress, Denzel Washington’s Character Easy Rawlins takes on the male detective role of this Neo Noir film. Daphne Monet plays the role of the Femme fatale because in the film she is also viewed as a mysterious women that has more gruesome intentions then most people assume. In this film, however, the Racial Divide of the late 1940’s adds even more conflict to Easy’s journey and also causes many unexpected plot twists throughout the story.
Los Angeles as a city is more than just the setting of these films. The city itself almost plays in as an additional character in these films. It seems to almost motivate or instigate the characters ill mannered decisions. And almost all of the conflicts in these films are started by the greed of one or two character’s. In these films. The city of Los Angeles is a place where everyone on the street is willing and able to double cross you at any point in time. No one who lives in the city is safe.
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