Film Noir: Film Treatment

The scene opens on a seemingly normal kitchen; a man stands at the sink with an air of desperation about him. The phone is rested on his shoulder, he has a cigarette tucked behind his ear and he seems to be desperately washing his hands. He is on the phone to a woman- dressed all in black with a net fascinator shielding the majority of her face. They have a brief and ambiguous conversation, discussing numbers and next targets- though the nature of the subject is not disclosed. He tells her to hold the line, and the camera tilts down. His shirt is covered in blood- and he is trying to wash it off his hands. We realise that the numbers they are talking about is that of people.

A young man called Zachary Swift kicks the door open, we see the world through his eyes as he stares at a floor full of old newspapers- blood splattered and a single high heel shoe. He sees in his mind how the shoe got there. A screaming woman was dragged down a hallway- her shoe getting knocked off in the process. He edges closer to the door. The man with the blood covered hands knows that he is here and stands in silence, a piercing stare on his face. Swift confronts the main- his eyes are drawn to a photo on the side, a picture of a young woman and her mother- it is covered in blood. Once again, Swift sees in his mind how the blood got there. We hear a woman’s scream and the picture is sprayed with blood.

His eyes are reverted back to the man. They stare each other off. We see their reactions- Swift has a cool, ‘devil may care’ attitude and the man has a violent look in his eyes, yet it seems false. They draw their guns back Swift is quickest. The man drops to the floor slumped against the counter. Swift picks up the phone from the body’s hand and holds it to his ear. The line goes dead.

Research

Here are a list of modern Film Noirs that I will use as my base research for our Film Noir film opening.

Sin City:
Sin City is a 2005 action/thriller which is noted as being one of the most popular Film Noir influenced films of recent years. It was adapted from a graphic novel, and this comes across very strongly in the film because every shot looks almost 'animated' as if it was straight out of a comic strip. The actual opening credits include stills of the main characters drawn out- exactly like the graphic novel. We have decided to use this as inspiration, and make the first few of our frames animated as it will be one of the conventions of the modern film noir genre. The main film features a heavy narrative, and we see glimmers of it in the opening scene- this has told us that we definately need to use a narrative in some shape or form within our project,

Brick:
Brick is a 2005 fim noir written by Rian Johnson. It is a gritty detective story set in suburbia which centres around the mysterious death of the protaganist's girlfriend friend, the opening scene consists entirely of flashbacks- which may make an interesting componant to our project. The flashback consists of the protagnist, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt looking at his dead girlfriend lying in a storm drain. Because film noir is known for it's refined style, there is no 'gore' shown, it is all suggested by close ups on each of the lifeless parts of her body. Violence towards young women is also a pronounced theme in our project. Also, it's low budget means that the film is something for us as a group to look up to- many of the special effects used in the film were shot cheaply using in camera effects.

Mulholland Drive:
Mulholland Drive is my third example of modern film noir, written in 2001 by David Lynch. The film tells the story of an aspiring actress named Betty Elms, newly arrived in Los Angeles who meets and befriends an amnesiac (again!) hiding in her aunt's apartment. The story includes several other seemingly unrelated vignettes that eventually connect in various ways, as well as some surreal scenes and images that relate to the cryptic narrative that leads to much speculation to how events transpire.

Momento:

Momento is a film noir made in 2000, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is the story of a man called Leonard with amnesia, who gained his condition after being attacked by an intruder who raped and murdered his wife. This already pure film noir, where revenge is always prominent and amnesia is the common cold of it's universe. It has unique running order, The film's events unfold in two separate, alternating narratives—one in color, and the other in black and white. The black and white sections are told in chronological order, showing Leonard conversing with an anonymous phone caller in a motel room. Leonard's investigation is depicted in color sequences that are in reverse chronological order.The film's events unfold in two separate, alternating narratives—one in color, and the other in black and white.