'The Obvious and the Code' and Film Noir

After watching The Big Sleep, I found it puzzling that Bellour would write so many pages on the dissection of a 12 shot segment that I had not found particularly noticeable while watching the film. I would not have thought much about these shots if Bellour had not called them to my attention. That being said, Bellour demonstrates how the non-obvious codes in movies can create meaning. These 12 shots were set intentionally in between two major scenes of the movie- something that was not obvious to me initially. Although it is not so easily perceived, all the shots and the way they are edited are crucial in the development of the narrative and the meaning of the story. Bellour talks about the relative "poverty" of this specific segment in the film, claiming that to the average viewer it would appear to be a long short or perhaps two or three shots edited together. In reality, it was 12 deliberate shots that work together despite their varying angles, dialogue, placement of characters and movement.

For example, Bellour mentions the direct quotation "I guess I am in love with you," which is said by both Vivian and Marlowe. The important thing to note here is that although they are saying the same thing, they are saying it in completely different ways; Vivian says it with a tender gesture and Marlowe while he is gripping the steering wheel and swerving.