This week in class we covered the lovely and unique genre of film noir. It is rooted in "pulp" or "hardboiled" fiction in which the seedy underbelly of the American dream was revealed through characters convinced that, this time, crime might just pay. A chivalrous detective who is disillusioned with humanity but still fights for justice, sometimes in an unorthodox way, was often featured. You've probably seen it parodied in films such as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?".
The film that we watched is called "Double Indemnity". The film follows Walter Neff and Phyllis Deitrichson through the twisted plot that takes them "straight down the line" together.
I have to say that, despite the fact that this is clearly a good movie and now a classic, I was downright amused through much of it. I suppose that the film noir genre has been mocked so much throughout the decades it has become humorous instead of compelling. Neff's sometimes lyrical voice-overs and the way he calls Phyllis 'baby' throughout the entire film reminded me of some Bugs Bunny cartoon I saw parodying film noir. The dialogue feels canned and predictable; because this is THE film noir, it's been borrowed from so often everything felt as if I'd seen it all before.
We discussed many different elements of the film in class; lighting, symbols, themes, repeated phrases, costumes and camera angles were just a few of them. I noticed many of these, but the predictable feel of the movie distracted and bored me through a lot of it. I am disappointed that I've evidently been ruined for film noir because of pop culture! My only wish for this film is that I'd never seen any film noir parodies before it. :(
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Yes, Bugs Bunny cartoons parodied noir conventions, Meghan. It really is hard to see this film with fresh eyes after seeing a lot of parodies.
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