characteristics of film noir

Characteristics of film noir.
Storylines: Most typical film noirs will have a business man who gets caught up on the wrong side of the law by accident, they will then try to sort things out which just ends up making it worse. They generally also include a woman who uses her sexuality and looks to get what she wants. It is she who typically gets the man in trouble. For example; ‘Detour’. The main character is simply just trying to hitch hike but ends up with a dead man. He then ends up accidently killing someone who tries to help him. ‘Double indemnity’. An insurance sales man lets himself be convinced, by a beautiful woman, to commit murder. ‘Murder, My Sweet’. A detective investigates one case but ends up with so much more ending in violence and murder which he gets blamed for.
Mise-en-scene: The same mise-en-scene is used in nearly every film noir. The classic film noir’s will have been filmed in black and white, and lights and shadows used to create extreme contrast. This makes the audience feel anxious and uncomfortable. Lighting is a big part of film noir and is its most distinguishing feature. Every film noir has examples of this. Vanition blinds are a very popular lighting technique in film noir. The characters generally wear typical 1940-1950’s dressed-up clothes.
Sound: There are not very many advanced sound techniques in classic film noir as they were small budget films. However, there are very often voice over’s and simple back round noise, such as cars. Double Indemnity, Dead on Arrival and Detour are just three example of film noir’s that use voice over’s.
Cinematography: Film noir’s generally only use a few simple shots as they were on a small budget. These shots include close ups, this is to emphasise to the audience the reaction of a character, long shots, to establish what is in the whole scene.