Narrative

In my research into film noir it has become clear to me that narrative is one of the most important parts. The famous visuals that make the style so well known are always used at particular points in the story. Moments where the famous shadows and dark images can be most effective are at those particularly scary, dangerous or especially mysterious moments.

Therefore for my film I will concentrate on making sure the narrative is there before make visual decisions.

As film noir is such a large subject area and there are so many areas that can be explored, and because there are so many areas that could go horribly wrong, I have decided to concentrate on one main theme of noir narrative and that is the theme of alienation.

I am going to make a film which concentrates on the feeling of a character who feels alienated from others. Loneliness and a lack of being loved will be used in this narrative.


In the book Encyclopedia of Film Noir by Geoff Mayer and Brian McDonnell they state Thus film noir went beyond presenting the drama as a simple or unequivocal conflict between good and evil. Instead, they shifted the dramatic focus to the "psychological" conflict that emanated from an ambivalent presentation of moral norms,

This quote sums up exactly the feeling I want to create in my film. The character can't be described simply and there is no right or wrong about his feels or actions. He is who he is and that is who we will see.