Film Noir

Film noir literally means "black film" in French. Typical features include high contrast, black and white, a femme fatale and an inspector, and a tragic ending.

 aesthetics:

• Smoking
• Bars
• Blinds
• Silhouettes
• Strange angles
• Cars
• Circular narrative

Film noirs are filmed in black and white and really focus on harsh contrast and dark shadows to show the mood of the scene or the intentions of certain characters. Generally, the settings of these films are in urban settings.

The femme fatale is typically very seductive and manipulative. they use their charms and good looks to get what they want from men whilst pretending to play the victim.

Guns are a particularly big part of film noir, specifically handguns which are used to surprise people in the film.

The darkness in film noir signifies secrets and mystery, making the audience feel like there is something being withheld.

The lighting in film noir is arguably the most important part of it. it highlights the characters personalities and foreshadows future events. it changes to match the mood of the scene.