Neo-noir Essays

1. Identify the film’s title and production designer (or art/visual designer). The film that I watched was Doubt. It was directed by John Patrick Stanley, and I believe that the production designer was David Graupman. 2. What is the focus of this film? Explain using examples from the film. The focus of this film was, as the name suggests, the doubt in a priest of a church. The church was also a school. The principal of the school, who was a legalistic nun, thought that that the priest of the school

2.Narrative Structure The narrative structure is about the content of the story and the way it is being told. It consists of the story plot, cast, setting (location) and genre. (Chatman, 1978) Memento a noir psychological thriller film based on a short story "Memento Mori" written by Jonathan Nolan. Memento is a Latin word which means an object kept as a reminder of a person or event. The plot is the protagonist's physical journey whereas the story is the protagonist's emotional journey. (Alcorn

Slang is used as a code to filter in and out information. It can be decoded different by different listeners, but insure that a specific group of decoders can understand the hidden messages. In the neo-noir film Brick, we look at how slang is used to hide and reveal certain meaning. Brendan, our main protagonist is focused on decoding slang to figure out the mystery surround his ex-girlfriend’s death. Although we do not always understand the diction and connotation of the words, we can still grasp

The critically acclaimed director David Fincher began his career in the early 1980s and his work includes thirteen films, fifty music videos, and many advertisements. Fincher is the main author of his films and is a modern auteur because many of his works share recurring characteristics. Fincher utilizes color and close-ups to allow the camera to tell the story and his films often carry twisted and controversial themes. I have analyzed the films Fight Club, Seven, and Zodiac to prove Fincher’s auteurism

The use of ultra-violence in films is a common thing in modern films and it is mostly used as an attraction to make a film action packed. In neo-noir films, however, the use of ultra-violence signifies a deeper meaning. It is used to portray a very surreal environment in which we live in. The violence in films such as Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino might seem excessive to most, but it only serves to illustrate just how horrifying the reality can be in patriarchal hierarchical societies ruled by a

of the generic crime-thriller motion picture. The film genre can be classified as a neo-noir crime thriller, where we see cinematography akin to film noir, namely, low-key lighting and striking use of light and shadows. While conventions of this genre are followed, few rules are broken. Kroll (2012) claims that we are in an age where “all movie genres are being subverted, postmodernized, de-constructed, film noir is a tough genre to mess around with”. The Usual Suspects manages to experiment with

vulnerable victim. Topics of this nature were never approached in traditional film noir cinema: “we see the film

be film noir on it’s, because it has the classic detective story, but it’s more of a neo-noir on it’s own, where a detective Jake gets caught up between lies, deceits, corruptions and murders. The film takes place in 1937 which is almost the time of Film Noir films, but not quiet. Chinatown has the look of film Noir, but with the trademark black and white and dark lighting gone. Neo-noir films are shot in colored, but has the style of a classic Noir. The style of Chinatown as a neo-noir film has

ego that goes by the name of Neo. Neo eventually goes too far down the rabbit hole when questioning his reality, and becomes a target of the police after stumbling across The Matrix and is contacted by a man named Morpheus (a legendary computer hacker). Morpheus shows Neo the “real world”, a society where most of humanity have been captured by machines that live off of the humans' bodies. They imprison the human minds within an artificial reality known as the Matrix. Neo is thought to be “The One”

Film Noir: The dark side Background Film noirs came to prominence during and after the World War II and lasted through the ‘Golden Era’ till 1960. Film noir can be defined as a film movement and not just a genre of film because it emerged at the time of political disturbance (1941-1958) – Second World War and Cold War. Feelings of fear, mistrust, and ambiguity, loss of innocence, pessimism and paranoia are evident in noir films, reflecting the disruption and disillusionment prevalent in the American

in the movie Neo chose the red pill instead of the blue pill. The blue pill could’ve led Neo to end the imaginary world. Just like Oedipus Rex and Julius Caesar there was also signs of fate in The Matrix because in the movie the world was pre-constructed and all the actions were predetermined. In The Matrix the movie had the ability to change between fate and free will because Neo had the choice to end the imaginary world but there was fate because there was an oracle who said that Neo wasn’t the chosen

is the mentor character archetype as he teaches and trains his crew. In The Matrix, Morpheus was training with Neo, saying: “What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are. Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me” (00h 52m 45s). Morpheus is instructing Neo to not think but to know he is stronger, he is faster and he knows he can hit Morpheus. Once Neo fully understands what Morpheus is trying to teach him, he finally did corner Morpheus and shows how he was able

Detective JJ Gittes battles a corrupt government and the evil businessman, Noah Cross. In many ways Chinatown acts as a 1970s noir film. However, Chinatown is neo-noir. Director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne portray Los Angeles as a gorgeous but rotten city while using historical inaccuracies to create a neo-noir film that both represents and disavows traditional film noir. Chinatown portrays Los Angeles as a gorgeous but sinful city. Throughout Chinatown we are treated to exquisite views

with three criminals in search of a priceless statue. Similar to film noir, neo-noir takes these key themes and repackages them to fit the current views of society. An example of a neo-noir film is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The movie tells the story of Harry Lockhart, who goes from being a criminal in New York City to a private detective in Los Angeles. The neo-noir narrative in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was written as an homage to the noir genre through its usage of key themes such as character archetypes and

substantial amount of similarities. Each film’s use of cinematic elements points towards them following a film noir style of filming. Though Blade Runner’s sci-fi genre does push it towards a more modernized version of film noir, commonly known as neo-noir, it still shares many similarities with Blade Runner. Low key lighting, shadows, smoke, compact spaces, and pathetic fallacy are all classic film noir qualities seen throughout the films. Both films also focus their plots upon the main character's attraction

What is the world what it seems? Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), developer of a major company in computer software and assailant alias Neo, you'll find that not. With the contact a strange group led by Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), who will show you the real truth that lies behind the apparent: a world dominated by machines, which enslave humanity to use our bodies as simple source of energy. But what does, and our mind, where it is then? The answer lies in the matrix. The entire concept represents

A computer programmer named Thomas Anderson by day, and a computer hacker, Neo at night. He is contacted by a legendary hacker also known by Neo as 'terrorist' by the government called Morpheus. Morpheus offers to tell him the truth about his existence if he trusts him. Neo had been questioning his reality. Neo agreed to follow and joins Morpheus who frees him from what he believes to be the real world, but is actually a virtual world based on the late twentieth century, known as 'the Matrix'.

Even from the beginning, this film both sets itself apart with the first-person “found footage” style, while at the same time, also has the chance to be not very different at all. Personally, I believe the movie certainly achieved the former statement; setting itself apart in a number of different ways. While taking from budget-cutting idea of Eduardo Sánchez’s The Blair Witch Project, using a camera carried by a character– in this case the protagonist– it also steers away from the horror genre that

The movie the matrix is a different type of universe than the one we live in now, everything we know to be true in this world is a lie. The main character of the movie Neo is faced with a decision, take the red pill and see the world for what it really is, to know the truth, or take the blue pill, to remain in the world you know to be true not knowing any different. Which one would you choose? I have spent a lot of time thinking about this, I have gone back and forth on my decision multiple times

Learning from Movies － A Case Study of Film Noir Film noir is a term that describes a style of Hollywood crime movies characterized by cynical attitudes, moral ambiguity, and low-key, black-and-white visuals. The genre’s classic period was the 1940s and 1950s. A typical film noir story often takes place in urban settings at night. The protagonist is usually morally ambiguous, cynical, disillusioned, or flawed. He may be a private detective, a cop, a gangster, a war veteran, or a petty criminal. As