Film Noir

What I found the most interesting about film noir are the ways in which it is defined by critics. Unusually so, film noir is believed to be one particular style of film that is understood differently by each individual movie critic. It is likely that critics' definitions of the film noir style depend on each individuals' view of the world. Moreover, even while one person may believe a film to obtain a film noir style, it can potentially be rejected by a different critic. Evidently, current events taking place in history are major influences over one’s perceptions of what may, in fact, be film noir. Schrader uses the time period following World World II as an example of a current event that greatly influenced American film and the inclusion of film noir in cinema. Many of the movies produced in the mid-20th century incorporate the characteristically somber, deep moods of this film style. Schrader mentions one of the most famous examples of movies that incorporates the film noir style, Double Indemnity. Having seen this film, I, too, can agree that the film’s theme contains a sense of deliberate darkness. Applying this film style to a movie that I believed to have dark themes allows me to obtain a better understanding of film noir’s foundations and qualities of which Schrader discusses. As a young individual, I can relate to the positive feedback received from incorporating film noir into a great deal of today’s cinema. While the film noir qualities present in modern day film may be conveyed dissimilarly from movies produced about seventy years ago (like Double Indemnity), such genres of film are no less dark.