Conventions of Film Noir

Film noir are particular types of film in which were made in the 1940s to 1950sduring the clinical depression period after the First World War. The term film noir means ‘black film’ in French. This is as the cinematography of these films are set in black and white. Film noir in this era is usually connected with low key lighting or black with a visual style. As Black and white films were, I think used to bring out more of its features to the audience as you can see a lot more with the contrast of light and dark lighting. Films in this genre in the 1940s to later dates consist of ‘Double Indemnity’ and ‘strangers on a train’.

Film noir the genre is based on the usual story lines of crime, murder, mystery, betrayal etc. The reason why noir films are based on this is because it interests the audiences by building suspense and making it more of an up beat tempo to it. There are differences even between the character genders in film noir to films these days. The male characters seem to be more dominant playing the main characters like the corrupt policemen or just in crime in general. They are also seen as imperfect people and are shown to have weak points.

The female characters are seen to be less dominant and more vulnerable and innocent in the film noir genre. The ‘femme fatale’ statement is used to judge what the female gender is like in film noir. This is concluded on the fact of the females being more seductive and dangerous which attracts the males in the film.

Another part of the film noir character is antiheroes. An antihero is a person who lacks the attributes or characteristics of a typical hero. They can often display vulnerable or weak traits as well as can be often classed as a villain or bad guy. The anti hero with some of its qualities of a villain, up to and including brutality and Ruth fullness, but with a soul or more motivations of a conventional hero. In film noir films the audience often identifies who the anti hero is straight away. The anti hero can be though yet sympathetic, and the anti hero often functions outside the mainstream and challenges it.

The lighting in film noir films is very important. The use of chiaroscuro which is the contrast of black and white in the mise en scene dictates who or what is good or bad in the film. This also heightens the sense of alienation felt by the viewer which is mainly used in this genre of film. The darker shadows and not much use of light represent darkness and evil. In some noir films the lighting can be used intentionally or sometimes it is just natural light. Lighting that has been used intentionally is called ambient lighting whilst natural lighting is called non-ambient. Ambient lighting is used to help lighten up the darker areas to set the scene to control the contrast of dark and light.