Deconstruction of a Neo-noir OTS

I watched the OTS for three different neo-noir films in an attempt to see how the directors have chosen to modernize and beak conventions to appeal to todays society.  


Neo-noir (from the Greek neo, new; and the French noir, black)
An important feature to Noir films is that they contain the traditional elements of a film noir; 
Crime, tragedy, non-explicit seduction
Characters: 
anti hero - the protagonist - male 
femme fatale - melodramatic - seductive
law enforcer 
antagonist 
Lighting: 
heavy contrast 
chiaroscuro
monochrome 
Mise-en-scene: 
bars and casinos 
dystopian setting 
Sound:
orchestral 
heightened sounds effects
Editing: 
realism
verisimilitude 
slow - builds suspense 
lingering shots
establishing shot
panning
tracking 
POV - occasionally - distortion  


The Red Riding

It starts with a tilt shot, which builds suspense as we view some obscure, unknown images. The lighting is dim accompanied by the dark images until we suddenly hit the brightness of some white wings, which seem to be attached to a little girl. We later discover that the storyline is based upon this young girl going missing, and in the OTS we meet the distraught parents. After seeing the young girl we realise the tilt shot was coming up from underground, we therefore presume the poor girl is dead. Evidently, the narrative conforms to the conventions of traditional film noir; crime, however it is a lot more darker than what they would used to be. The sound throughout this scene is also very distorted which deprives the audience's senses, they become apprehensive and hooked.
   Moving onto the next scene we are shown a close up of a young man who we recognise as our anti-hero, and this is a common shot used to establish his character. Similarly to traditional noir films, a voice over of the anti hero is heard meaning we prepare to take the journey and empathise with him. This shows the modern alterations, this would be very untypical for noir films of the 40's/50's era. 
    While he's talking we learn some interesting things about the life he has lead, for instance he explains how his dad has died and that he is returning from London after ruining his chance to work there, this naturally causes the audience to ask questions and wonder what could he possibly have done to damage his chances? We become suspicious of him and believe he is hiding a secret. From learning this about his character it parallels closely with what they traditionally were; they always had a flaw, tended to be failures, which is the impression we gain as well as what he's actually admitting to. The mis-en-scene of this opening scene is him sitting in a car, driving along a extremely long road (which the camera is tracking) whilst in reasonably heavy rain. The area is rural with not much to see - Yorkshire. This creates a dull, dystopian setting, which in reality is suitable for the narrative. As driving, the man is inhaling his cigarette, a classic signifier of film noir. Adding to the bleakness is the colours, the car scene is slightly monochrome with low saturation with a variety shades of brown, although this does represent the year it was made; 1974. This is slightly different to what the strong contrast between black and white used to be in film noir. An additional modern feature to this films OTS is that some of the sound heard is an acoustic guitar which is contemporary, and strangely suited for the character, as he seems quite rugged. 
    As we meet the girls parents we're revealed to the protagonists profession; a newspaper reporter, and he is covering this kidnap/murder case. The editing throughout also remains fairly simple as what it always was - simple fade ins and outs.  

Blade Runner

I immediately got a different impression from this, firstly its science-fiction, within seconds we're introduced to flying cars, it seems entirely different to anything associated with film noir. The whole situation is different to traditional as there's electrical music and drones of machines heard in the background, which creates the sense for the audience that they are actually inside a machine. Another break of convention regarding sound is that there is no voice over, no character to relate to. 
   We are introduced to two characters, however it is confusing whether either are actually the protagonist or antagonist. We see a man who we initially believe is possibly a law enforcer, even doctor, on the other hand his personality emits the opposite; he also seems to have the mind of a criminal, evil and manipulative. This character is the one asking the questions, attempting to understand the other man's 'emotions' so he says, however we can tell there is underlying tension. The man answering the questions seems a victim at first, however unexpectedly and shockingly shoots the other man. We now  associate as him as the 'bad' one, however the impression is that he's only a henchman of the antagonist. It's hard to establish characters for either men which then suggests are either of them actually important? The mise-en-scene throughout this scene includes a number of electrical devices, some of which are attached to the man answering the questions, as though he's being examined. This helps maintain the modern, scientific setting, extremely unconventional. 
   Despite this, the film does stick to conventions in a few minor ways... For example the lighting is very similar, being that it's dark, there is strong contrast and lots of shadowing and silhouettes. A gun and cigarettes are the ultimate signifier's used in film noir, and of course we see both of these - the man asking the questions smokes while doing so, in a arrogant manner. 


Mulholland Drive

This was the most complex OTS our of the three, and I came to the conclusion that it has a fairly confusing, chiaroscuro narrative. We first see a shot of a number of couples dancing to jazz music and a young blonde woman seeming to have a fun time. The scene is full of brightness ,the woman seems to have a bubbly, smiley and innocent personality, this is what the film is trying to portray the swinging 50's as. This scene contrast greatly to the next, which is a shot of a dark, obscure figure, accompanied by low, droning music. This then switches to a blurred shot of a car, the focus being on the strong break lights, a tracking shot follows the car which creates much suspense. So the shots included vary a 
great deal, all of them being very different.
We are then introduced to what appears to be the femme fatale, she, like the traditional character seems mysterious. Her appearance is highly different to the young blonde woman, she is dark haired wearing dark red lipstick, seems demanding, and these features are what help us define her character. The man we then continue to be introduced to is holding a gun, this also is very traditional signifier used in film noir's, we recognise this man as the antagonist. These two characters are of different class to the women and others who were dancing, and with this scene being so completely different to the different one, it in fact creates a chiaroscuro narrative. 
From just watching the OTS it's extremely hard to try and predict where the storyline is heading, and with later research into the film it seems as though even with watching the entire film, it still remains confusing. It is perhaps trying to suggest that there is two sides to a femme fatale, and innocent and a dark secretive side.


From analysing these different OTS's it has made me realise just how modern you could take a film noir. It's provided me with ideas and influenced me to develop some fresh, contemporary concepts for my groups project.