The term film noir can be defined as a style of film which was marked by a period of pessimism, self doubt and fatalism. The term was applied by French critics in the 1946 to a group of US films that were made during the war and that were released in quick succession after 1945. Ultimately there has been much debate surround the ambiguity of the term, but it is now understood that film noir is more of a narrative and stylistic tendency and ultimately “a critical category” rather than a genre in itself.
The movement is generally considered to have started in 1941 with the release of Huston’s The Maltese Falcon which is considered to have established many of the conventions of the film noir movement. Film Noir, as a movement is generally characterised by the damaged male protagonist, city locations, low key lighting, distinctive high and low angles, extreme wide angle shots and the infamous femme fatale.
Ultimately the movement of film noir can be understood as a product of the period, to a certain extent due to the sheer impact, events such as the second world war had on the characterisation of the typical male protagonist and the typical mood and aesthetic of Film Noir. When deciding whether film noir could be described as a “product of the period” it is important to consider Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity as it contains the majority of the conventions that belong to Film Noir and ultimately formed the “bridge to the postwar phase of film noir.
The film stars Fred MacMurray as the archetypal “hard boiled hero” and an insurance salesman who lets himself be persuaded into a murder. The film focuses on sexual desire greed and murder and mainly the dark side of human nature. Firstly many critics argue that throughout the narrative, Wilder’s presentation of the dark side of human nature (such as the focus on murder sexual desire and greed) “can be read as an attempt to grapple with the rise of Fascism in Europe” and specifically the question of how ordinary citizens of the world can become murderers.
This is prominent in Double Indemnity due to the fact that the main protagonist, Walter a cynical insurance agent and Phyllis, a heartless scheming housewife and the femme fatale of the narrative, plan to murder Phyllis’s husband and collect $100,000 in insurance. From the argument which Connor presents it is evident that the narrative elements of Double Indemnity can be described as “a product of the period. ” This is due to the fact that the narrative elements of murder, sexual desire and greed can be described as a visual representation of the attempt to grapple with the rise of Fascism in Europe.
So therefore it can be argued that Wilder’s narrative focus on greed, sexual desire, and murder is a result and to some extent a reaction to the rise of fascism in Europe and therefore “a product of the period. ” The time in which Double Indemnity was produced also plays a significant role in explaining how film noir can be understood as a product of the period. The film was released in 1944 during the later years of World War Two where the tendency of the masculine crisis began to emerge.
Double Indemnity clearly shows the concern of the masculine crisis through the portrayal of Walter, a weak submissive male, driven by greed and sexual desire. Evidently, this is a portrayal of the man in the midst of the masculine crisis and furthermore emphasizes why film noir can be understood as a product of the period. Furthermore, the film is largely told in the form of flashbacks, which recount how the murder was committed. The voiceover narrative device was used throughout to aid the telling of these flashbacks. Consequently, we see Phyllis almost entirely from the “hard boiled” Walter.
Throughout much of his voiceover commentary Walter implies that “he was impelled by a physical desire for Phyllis that he could not control. ” Furthermore the visual devices used throughout the film further reinforce the fact that the narrative is clearly from Walter’s perspective. The employment of obsessive point of view shots can be described as the main visual device used to reinforce the fact that the narrative and the portrayal of other characters is clearly from Walter’s perspective. For example, the first shot we see of Phyllis is a shot of her at the top of a set of stairs where she had just come in from sunbathing.
This can be described a voyeuristic, low angle shot, almost as if Walter is gazing up at Phyllis. It is important to note that this “provides occasional disquieting images of one characters control over another. Additionally, clearly the relationship between Walter and Phyllis is an unequal one as one can understand that she is dominant and he is clearly submissive. This clearly shows that Phyllis is portrayed as the femme fatale, a character type who tends to be seen as a temptress and who tends to lead the male character astray.
It is important to note that the “treacherous femme fatale” was established at the very beginning of the film noir cycle with The Maltese Falcon in 1941 so the fact that the character archetypes of the hard boiled male protagonist and the femme fatale are still present once again shows that film noir can be described as a product of the period. So overall the direct relation to the rise of fascism in Europe and the use of the archetypal films of film noir shows that Double Indemnity can be understood as a product of the period.
When understanding how film noir can be understood as a product of the period The Big Sleep is important to consider as it is known for having a “resolutely classical visual style”The narrative of the big sleep follows Phillip Marlowe, an investigative detective hired by General Sternwood to protect his nymphomaniac daughter, Carmen from a blackmailer. The film marks a significant transformation from the traditional form of film noir as Hawkes shot many scenes of romantic “banter” between Marlowe and Vivien, who were played by Humphrey Boggart and Lauren Bacall.
This sense of romance within the film gives the narrative a lighthearted feeling and therefore meant that it almost transferred from film noir into a romantic comedy. This almost transformation of the film noir suggests the idea that some films within the film noir cycle do not conform to film noir being a “product of the period. ” Similarly, to other works within the film noir cycle there is a “hard boiled” central male protagonist that has remained a traditional character archetype since the establishment of the conventions of the film noir in 1941.
In this case the main protagonist is Marlowe. Within the narrative of the film it is important to note that Marlowe ultimately represents everything the average man cannot achieve, through his desire to live life on the edge and avoid all the factors that would make him a traditional man. Throughout film, Marlowe constantly reminds the audience of his masculinity, this suggests the fact that Marlowe actually has a fear of failing as a man which is evident through his relations with female characters throughout the narrative.
A prime example of this is his constant flirting with female characters such as Agnes Lozelle. When Marlowe sees her he immediately thinks about how he can charm her with his words. This constant flirting between Marlowe and the females of the narrative can be seen as restoring his confidence in his masculinity as he is trying to prove his desirability as a male, yet Marlowe never acts on these attractions. This is because the whole fact surrounding why Marlowe flirts with these women is he is boosting his ego charisma and overall masculinity.
This desire to prove his masculinity can ultimately be linked once again to the masculinity crisis which was beginning to emerge during the war and the post war years. This crisis was mainly due to the fact that when men came back from fighting in the Second World War, women had taken over the careers that had once made men feel masculine. This sense of a masculinity crisis during the war and post war years is evident throughout the film noir cycle through the character archetype of the “hard boiled” male protagonist.
This is present in most films during the film noir cycle, most notably being established within The Maltese Falcon. The “hard boiled” hero in this case was Boggart’s starring role Sam Spade, “a private detective who must decide whether to turn in the treacherous femme fatale who has hired him and who he perhaps loves. ” Throughout the narrative Spade appears to be frequently violent and volatile even submissive due to the fact that the “femme fatale” seems to have control over Spade. Furthermore, throughout the narrative masculinity is represented in a negative light as most males within the film appear violent and volatile.
This, like Marlowe’s constant flirting within The Big Sleep can be seen as a way to remind the audience of their masculinity. This reference to the masculinity crisis throughout the film noir cycle, is a prime example of how Film Noir can be understood as a product of the period and even subm To Conclude, although some elements of the film noir cycle such as the transformation from the traditional form of “hard boiled” film noir do not conform to the idea of the cycle being a product of the period, film noir overall can be understood as a product of the period.
This is due to the fact that the overall visual style and narrative conventions of film noir ultimately relate directly to the ones established with the release of The Maltese Falcon in 1941 and the socio-political factors which were present at the time of the production of the films within the film noir cycle, such as the rise of fascism within Europe during the 1930s and the emerging masculine crisis during the later war years and the post war years.
