Feature: In the mood for noir (films)… some of my favourites
By: Alexa Williamson
If you’re looking for a darkly atmospheric movie – where the sets are dark, the costumes are exquisitely detailed, stylised and beautiful and the plot can also be dark-humoured, bittersweet, or just darkly mysterious then check out one of these.
The Crow (1994)
Reason: based on the comic – a gothic, dark and heart-breaking film about loss and nemesis – set in a place where it always seems to be raining.
City of Lost Children (1995)
Reason: a beautiful and eerie tale of a scientist who steals the dreams of children.
Sin City (2005)
Reason: a great movie made up of many tales about the corruption within this dark city.
Batman (1989)
Reason: a darkly sad and gripping tale of the famous caped crusader. And, the city’s called Gotham – how much more noir can you get? (Starring Michael Keaton and directed by Tim Burton – it is well done and tantalisingly melancholy.)
Batman Returns (1992)
Reason: another great Batman tale – in the grim city of Gotham. This time not only stars Micheal Keaton, but also the super sexy and sultry Michelle Pfeiffer.
Brick (2005)
Reason: a darkly odd and interesting tale (despite the teeny-bopperish overtones) of one boy’s investigation into what happened to his former girlfriend.
Devil in a Blue Dress (1996)
Reason: the ‘noir’ costumes and settings are very pretty. The plotline, however, is weak and the dialog staid.
Se7en (1995)
Reason: gory, stylised film about a serial killer with interesting 1950s-type sets.
I think there is a crossover between Film Noir and Gothic, but I don’t think you can label one as the other. Batman and The Crow are definitely Gothic, not least in the architecture used, but in their themes. I don’t see quite how they compare to classics such as the Blue Dahlia or The Big Sleep. They certainly have elements of Film Noir about them but I think the action sequences, sets, costumes and language all go to rule them out of the genre.
Se7en plays out more like Horror than Film Noir, though I must admit to only having seen it once. The way most of it was filmed in almost total darkness put me off somewhat.
Sin City… well, you’re on the money there, though I would say that it is so heavily stylised, it possibly goes so far as to become a parody of the genre.
I haven’t seen Brick or In The Mood For Love but I think you’ve missed a couple of modern classics. Devil in a Blue Dress [1995] and LA Confidential [1997] have classic Film Noir in their soul and are both very, very good.
What about Dark City? If you’re going to include the Crow, you *have* to include Dark City. It’s much more akin to true Film Noir – the sets, costumes and main characters are straight out of the forties classics, aliens aside.