L.A Noir Film Opening Of LA Confidential

Declan Cunningham




The term ‘LA Noir’ in itself is a binary opposite. This is because most people recognize the city of LA in a positive light. For example, LA thinks up images of Hollywood, fame, success, endless beaches and dawn to dusk sunshine. Whereas it contradicts itself in the fact that LA noir brings out more of the themes of darkness like crime and criminal activity. This draws the audience into with the film as it seen as a shock to them as it is a different perspective of LA. One film which is representative of the genre of LA noir is ‘LA Confidential’. The title of the film immediately roots the viewer to the city and therefore the viewer becomes challenged because of the contradiction of ‘LA’ in the title associated with the genre of film noir.
The introduction of the film ‘LA Confidential’ introduces and presents binary opposites such as, black& white, justice & corruption, criminal & police and good & evil. For example in the opening scene the policeman in the car which happens to be outside of a house in which a man is assaulting a woman. This relates to the binary opposite of good & evil as the audience see the policeman as a good guy and the other male character as the bad or evil person judging on what he is doing.

The police universally are supposedly good people; the audience also could be or are slightly confused on whether the policeman dealing with this problem is a good cop or a bad cop as he has a distinctive look and tone of voice to him which could puzzle the audience in which they have doubt. The way that the policeman looks, talks and acts is very sly and unknown, in the way in the first seen where he tear’s the Christmas lights down to create a disruption to the male who is assaulting. This also creates enigma as it is a mystery to the audience on whether the policeman is a good or bad cop which keeps the audience interested. Another binary opposite that maybe used is justice and corruption as the policeman in this scene may seem corrupt due to the way that he acts and talks.
Binary opposites maybe used as it easier as the city is already seen as an active city, and could also be linked with enigma as it could be the defining characteristic of LA noir as appose to other film noir.

Analyse how the opening of Sin City uses film noir conventions and how it sets up audience expectations

Analyse how the opening of Sin City uses film noir conventions and how it sets up audience expectations

The opening of the film Sin City uses many conventions of film noir like the themes of crime, isolation and deception, the setting and the lighting, costumes and props and the voice over, dialogue and script.
The way that the opening scene in Sin City uses the themes of crime, isolation and deception is the way that the lighting creates contrast to create the hidden characteristics which brings out the deception in the characters. The opening scene is dominated by black apart from the bright party in the background which separates the two characters in this opening scene, as it is set at night and in a large dominating urban city it also brings out the insignificance of the two people.
The ways that costumes and props are used in this opening scene are very similar to the way that film noir was used in the 1940’s in the way they use props which create narrative. Iconic props are used like the cigarettes and the gun, and the outfits that both of the characters are wearing are very stylish like in the olden films, as the male is wearing a very dark suit with heavily styled slicked back hair and the female is wearing a bright red dress which we can see which may emphasise the seduction and danger of her which makes her suggest to the audience that she is a femme fatal.
One of the shots in the opening scene of this film is with the two characters together in the background of a big city with the sounds of crime and danger. This makes the city seem more large and dominating and with the light rain which as the scene carries on turns heavier makes the scene become more eerie and unsettling.
The narrator’s voice in this starting scene is very low which may create a sense of more eeriness and makes it more unsettling. In some cases the narrator seems to whisper some of the words that he says which makes the audience think that the two characters are up to no good. The dialogue that is used is makes this opening scene include added intensity to it. Both of the characters try and do create more passion to the conversation in the way that the words are said with more enthusiasm but in small conversation between the characters. The writer of the Sin City uses the script to add a layer of more depth and emotion. This also adds complexity to the two characters as we know nothing about who they are, what they do and more importantly what is going to happen. Furthermore in the opening scene the ratio of the male and the female is very biased. This is based on the face that the female has only a few lines as the male does the majority of the talking. This emphasises to the audience that the female may look vulnerable and weak compared to the male character.

Declan Cunningham