Messages and Values questions in Film Noir

Messages and Values questions in Film Noir

1. fate

   • Fate is not kind and life is uncertain.,
     • Al is picked up by a wrong person, and then he picks up a wrong person.
       • Gets picked up by Charlie Haskel- turns out to be trouble
       • He picks up Vera- turns out to be trouble.

2. Greed

   • It's a destructive impulse.
     • This leads to Vera's death.,
     • Haskel is willing to lie to his own father.
       • He tells his father his job is selling religious books, when in a matter of fact he's actually a bookie.
     • Al is critical of the corrupting influence of money.

3. Traps

   • Life can trap you and there is no way out.
     • Claustrophobic sets: The Car and The Hotel Room
     • Gradual decline in Al's appearance.
     • Always trying to open a window.
       • Let in air, means of escape, but Vera doesn't let him. She locks doors- traps him.

4. Disguise

   • you can reinvent/disguise but never escape your nature.
     • Al becomes Haskel Vera dresses up.

5. Most screen play writers/directors are not just story tellers. Films often contain investigations/criticisms/exploration of what is going on in the society in which they are produced.

6. Crime/Deviance

   • In the 1940s there was the Hays Code which meant only certain things could be put on screen. This meant that criminals had to be caught.
   • Gone Girl, there is Natural Law. This links in with the revenge that she wants.
     • Could admire Amy?

7. People cannot be trusted to be who they say they are- our identities are all just acts/performances and impressions we create.