Film Noir Facts

Film Noir means 'Black Film' in French and the dark themes reflect the tension and insecurities of the time period which was just after World War 2 so the films show the anxiety and suspicion of the 1950s. Fear, mistrust, bleakness, loss of innocence, despair and paranoia are all themes of 'Noir' which reflect the threat of war (The Cold War) at the time. Film Noir films were full of anti-heroes such as criminal, misogynistic, greedy and violent men who are a reflection of society's evils. The films rarely ended happily or optimistically. 

Conventions of Film Noir

• Themes were usually melancholy, pessimistic, moral corruption, evil, ambiguity and guilt
• The heroes of the films were usually 'anti-heroes' who were crooks, war veterans, criminals, murderes or 'plain-Joes' 
• These 'anti-heroes' were morally-ambiguous and came from a dark world of moral corruption and crime
• The story lines are usually very twisted and complex
• They have a non-linear beginning and the story is told through flashbacks and witty dialogue
• The non-diegetic sound was normally sudden noise/heavy breathing/protagonist voice over
• The diegetic sound was usually jazz/grating/foreboding music and city/urban sound effects
• The films usually showed the dark side of human nature or doomed love
• The harsh atmosphere was made to feel like anything could go wrong and fatalism was a strong theme
• The lighting was expressionistic and full of shadows
• Camera angles were often dutch or high/low angles to make the viewer uneasy or uncomfortable while depth of field shots were common
• The settings were usually urban and in dark offices/secluded warehouses/claustrophobic rooms/dingy apartments or rainy night life

Characters

• Anti-hero - Main protragonist who lacks characteristics of the usual hero. The character lacks morals, courage and honesty. Sometimes alienated by society and is facing extreme life crisis (it seems like it is fate that he will always fail). The anti-hero in film noir could be a police officer, gangster or an 'average Joe' who gets into trouble by crime or the scheming of the femme fatale.
• Femme Fatale - Independent woman who rejects the typical view of what a woman should be at the time (devoted house wife). Sometimes the plot starts with the woman murdering her husband to get out of the loveless relationship. She is usually a provocative and sexually liberal woman who gets the hero or 'anti-hero' into trouble. The look for a femme fatale is usually fully made up with makeup and has short curls while wearing provocative clothing.