This week I watched Brick and Killer’s Kiss, two films that make use of the noir style. Here are some stills from Killer’s Kiss that illustrate common elements of noir.

The first is a still from when the antagonists goons corner the main character’s trainer and friend in an ally. They chase him to the end and murder him, thinking him to be our main character, the one they’re supposed to kill. Here we see danger, we see a cold look at the reality of murder, and we see the strong contrast between the lit alley and the dark silhouettes of the characters.

In this second still we see the tough guy protagonist and the woman, the lady, the dangerous lover, a staple of noir film and story, locked in an embrace. Her recently ex-lover becomes jealous and sets out to have our guy killed. Frequently in noir, the tough guy character falls for a dame who is somehow dangerous to love, and in the end somebody winds up dead.

Lastly we have our protagonist alone, fleeing from his murderous pursuers. This demonstrates a key element of noir, in which a character is set small against the vastness of the cold, unfeeling city, just a tiny player in a world that has no plan and no regard for him.

This week I watched Brick and Killer’s Kiss, two films that make use of the noir style. Here are some stills from Killer’s Kiss that illustrate common elements of noir.

The first is a still from when the antagonists goons corner the main character’s trainer and friend in an ally. They chase him to the end and murder him, thinking him to be our main character, the one they’re supposed to kill. Here we see danger, we see a cold look at the reality of murder, and we see the strong contrast between the lit alley and the dark silhouettes of the characters.

In this second still we see the tough guy protagonist and the woman, the lady, the dangerous lover, a staple of noir film and story, locked in an embrace. Her recently ex-lover becomes jealous and sets out to have our guy killed. Frequently in noir, the tough guy character falls for a dame who is somehow dangerous to love, and in the end somebody winds up dead.

Lastly we have our protagonist alone, fleeing from his murderous pursuers. This demonstrates a key element of noir, in which a character is set small against the vastness of the cold, unfeeling city, just a tiny player in a world that has no plan and no regard for him.