Outline for Presentation

 Outline for the L.A. Confidential Presentation                                                                       

 

I.             L.A. Confidential is a movie about three detectives working to find the truth about two events, the Night Owl Diner Massacre and the kidnapping and rape of a latina girl. Throughout the movie, they discover themselves along with great corruption in their own precinct. The detectives’ Captain is running a drug ring and trying to monopolize the drug industry in Los Angeles. They start off working against each other but grow into a great team that solves the mysteries about the two events and also takes down the Captain and his accomplices.

 

II.            Comparison of Classic Noir Elements to Neo-Noir Elements

A.      Protagonist (Classic Noir)

1.       Detective  Figure Searching for the Truth about the Night Owl Diner Massacre and the Kidnapping and Gang Rape of a Latina Girl

B.      Protagonist (Neo Noir)

1.       Addition of Protagonists (3 Instead of 1)

2.       Each in search of more than just the truth about the crimes, they are also divided inside and searching to find out who they really are and why they became cops in the first place

C.      Femme Fatale (Classic Noir)

1.       Typical femme fatale figure manipulating people to get what they want

D.      Femme Fatale (Neo Noir)

1.       Reversal of gender in the femme fatale, now is played by a man, the Captain, who uses his power and the threat of losing their jobs to get the detectives to do what he wants. He also misleads them with false leads to steer the investigations in the wrong directions

2.       Addition of a different femme fatale figure, Lynn Bracken, which is a beautiful woman just to give you the feeling that the female femme fatale is still in the movie

E.       Voice Over Narration (Classic Noir)

1.       Story told in Voice Over Narration fashion

F.       Voice Over Narration (Neo Noir)

2.       Told by someone other than the protagonist, an outside person that runs a local scandal magazine

 

III.          Classic Noir

A.      Overwhelming Atmosphere of Anxiety

1.       Lines in the movie

a.       “Jack, I doubt you have ever taken a stupid breath, don’t start now.”

b.       “You’ll do as I say and ask no questions, do you get my drift?”

 

IV.          Neo-Noir

A.      Improved Screen Work from Black and White to Vivid Color

B.      Corruption Angle from the 90’s used in a film based in the 50’s

1.       Rodney King Beating, brought anger about police brutality, racism, and other social inequalities

2.       Rampart Scandal, some 70 plus officers getting charged with misconduct, unprovoked beatings and shootings, planting of false evidence, framing of suspects, stealing and dealing narcotics, and covering up evidence

 

Quotes from Outside Sources

 

Paul Arthur says in his review in Cineaste that Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential “is dead serious about its historical backdrop, its relation to the generic lineage of noir storytelling but also to the social-political climate in which the series flourished and expired” (1). James Elroy and Curtis Hanson both grew up in the 1950’s when this film was set. They knew the era and the lifestyle, and Hanson matched it up perfectly even though it was filmed in the 1990’s. From the landmarks to the cars to the clothing, everything was perfect.

 

 Paul also says that “Instead of feeding off the usual suspects, L.A. Confidential circles back to the early Fifties to revisit two intertwined but often overlooked branches of the noir family tree: the rogue cop saga and the expose of the municipal corruption” (1). This is credit should mostly be given to Elroy but was perfected by Hanson. Classic noir has been known to have a single cop standing up against its corrupt precinct and exposing the municipal system for its scandalism and corruption. This type of thing has been going on since the beginning of time and continues to go on today.

 

Blog Four, Zero Draft Questions

                I am starting by answering question number one. Discuss the contrasts between the endings of the novel and the film. Which ending seems more appropriate for film noir and why? The film and the novel end very differently. I personally liked the end of the novel better.

The film ended with Walter going to Phyllis’s house with the intent to kill her and keep their secret from everyone. He shows up and as he is trying to shut the windows and blinds he exposes his plan to her. Phyllis being ahead of the game was ready for that and she shot him first. She instantly felt remorse and love at the same time and tried to convince Walter that they were meant for each other. Walter in turn shoots and kills her. As he is leaving, Nino arrives. He hides from Nino at first and then jumps out and tells him to leave. That he should go to Lola and that she loved him. They both part ways and Walter goes to the office where he gives his final statement into the recorder. As he completes his statement, he turns and Keyes is standing there. He tells Keyes what has happened and leaves the office. He makes it to the outer doorway and collapses from the loss of blood. Keyes comes up to him as he calls for the ambulance and police. Keyes lights his smoke and they exchange some words and the movie ends.

The book ended with a very strategic plan to have Phyllis meet Walter at the park. Walter steals Nino’s car and goes to the park to meet Phyllis. While waiting for her, Walter hears some noise in the bushes. Before he knows it he has been shot. The next thing we know, Walter is in the hospital. He finds out that Lola and Nino were arrested for shooting him and killing Mr. Nirdlinger. Keyes threatens to do whatever he needs to do to get Lola to talk. Walter then confesses everything. Keyes appears to cut him a break by letting him go and arranging a boat for him to leave on. Walter gets out of the hospital and give a written statement to Keyes. He then leaves on the boat. After a while on the boat, he goes up to the deck to sit and relax. Next thing you know, Phyllis is sitting next to him. They start talking and Phyllis wants to get married. No way says Walter. While on the boat, news got out about the two of them and what they had done. They knew they were busted. They talk about jumping overboard to the shark below but they wanted to wait till the moon comes up. They return to their rooms to prepare for their fate and for Walter to finish his statement and the book ends.

The film ending is probably better for Film Noir in its true definition because it ends with the shoot-out and Walter trying to get away to the end. If he could have gotten away, he would have. He lays there soaked in blood. Smoking his cigarette to the end.

 

In question number five, we are asked about the man walking with crutches in the beginning of the film what was his significance. I think the man in the beginning is a Walter. I think this is significant because this shows Walter as he was when he was impersonating Mr. Dietrichson. This was while they were carrying out their plot of murder and in many ways, it shows Walter stepping into Mr. Dietrichson’s shoes and becoming the next in line. He is taking his walk to fate in a way.

Blog Entry Three: Double Indemnity (Question Two)

            I feel that the ending of the novel was very satisfying. I liked the twist. It was a little unclear at the very end but left it up to our imaginations.  The two deserved the punishment that they received. As things were coming to close, I thought that Huff was going to get away with everything because Phyllis had screwed over so many people throughout her life. It seemed like Keyes had given him a pass. He was going to get away and have a fresh start. Then it talks about him being on the boat and finding a seat up on the deck. He heard a little gasp next to him and as he turned, he saw her. This was the last person I expected to see on the boat with him. It kept me drawn in all the way to the end. We assume that the two of them jumped overboard to the shark once the moon came up but it doesn’t say that.

The details given in their final conversation were great. They talk about Lola and Nino getting married and that Keyes gave away Lola being the father figure since her dad was dead. And then she says that they could get married, but what for? There was nothing ahead of them. She says that her time has come. That it is time “For me to meet my bridegroom”. The only one she has ever loved. She talks about feeling his icy fingers creeping into her heart little by little as she goes down. I’m not sure if this is a reference to death and the devil or if she is referring to the ocean.

                Later as Huff is writing his final statement in the stateroom, it talks about her changing into her “outfit for death”. She puts on her makeup as if she is already dead. Her face is white, black circle under her eyes and blood red lipstick. This makes me picture a ghost or a dead person. She is wrapped in her blood red silk sheet with only her head and stumps of hands sticking out. She moves silently. It describes her as the thing that came aboard to shoot dice for souls of the people. She is like the grim-reaper. She hovers over Huff in the end while he is writing his statement. She is silent in her entry and he can feel her presence. She is the angel of darkness that has come to take him.

Blog Entry Two: Double Indemnity

                In the article “Towards a Definition of Film Noir,” authors Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton  state, “It is the presence of crime which gives film noir its most constant characteristic. “The dynamism of violent death” is how Nino Frank evoked it, and to the point is well taken.  Blackmail, accusation, theft, or drug trafficking set the stage for a narrative where life and death are at stake. Few cycles in the entire history of film have put together in seven or eight years such a mix of foul play and murder.  Sordidly or bizarrely, death always comes at the end of the tortured journey.  In every sense of the word, a noir film is a film of death.”

                The above quote fits very well with the book “Double Indemnity” by James M. Cain. From the beginning, the stage has been set with a plan to set up a false accident insurance to the murder of a hard-working husband to the cover-up and on to the investigation. The details are amazing. The wife comes up with this plan to kill him in his pool and make it look like the husband hit his head and drown which gets shot down by the insurances salesman / newly found lover. He says that this is a horrible plan and we should kill your husband my way. He then goes on with this very well thought out and detailed plan that includes the upfront portion of tricking the husband into signing the accident insurance documents and issuing another check to pay for the accident insurance without knowing it. They allow months to go by before they put their plan in to action. The husband breaks his ankle which only assists their plan even more. Next comes the murder scene. This scene is set on a dark road down the street from the victims own house. The wife tricks the husband into walking back to the house with a broken leg just to get her purse. The insurance salesman climbs in the car lays in the backseat and they pick up the husband from the front porch as if doing him a favor. They drive toward the train station while the salesman barely breathes to avoid being heard. Suddenly, the salesman put his hand over the husband’s mouth. Through the fighting he is able to take the cigar out of the husband’s frantic hands and hand it to the wife. He then grabs the husband’s crutch and breaks his neck with it. The author describes the husband as curled down in his seat with a broken neck, only having a mark above his nose from the crutch crosspiece. They continue their plan by tying up they husband and continuing on to the train station. The salesman is dressed up to look like the husband with a wrapped leg and all. They wife intercepts anyone that could come into contact with the husbands impersonator and he makes his way on the train. Once on the train the wife says goodbye and the salesman has to make small talk to get rid of the man on the back of the train. Once the coast is clear and they hit their meeting point, he jumps off the train. The story then gets very intense as the salesman waits for the wife to show whit her husband’s body. Any possible problem goes through his head as he worries and waits. The wife finally shows up, somehow carrying her 200 pound husband over her shoulders. The abandon the body and while pulling away they throw the hat out the window.

                This death and the detailed plan leading up to it was very violent and fitting to the quote at the beginning.  There was a great deal of foul play and murder tied up in this book and I really enjoyed it up to this point.

Neo Noir 90's Content and Visual Elements that Make up Film Noir in its Classic Period

Based on the reading of the article of “The Neo Noir 90’s”, there are many elements that make up film noir during its classic period. Film noir was “gloomy, doomy and dangerous”.  It was filled will trench coats, car chases in rain-slicked streets. There was action packed gun shoot outs in the open cities’ porches, alleys and anywhere else you can think of. It was filled with corruption and glamour. The men smoked cigarettes and drank martinis or bourbon while dressing to impress in there suits, ties and fedoras.  These men were smooth talkers to both men and women and they knew how to handle themselves in a fight or shootout. There was sexy and dangerous women in tight dresses, big hair and lipstick that became known as Femme Fatale. These Femme Fatale women would seduce you into taking them to dinner and then steal your wallet and your car keys or stab you in the back with their lies and deceit if not physically. The movies were typically in crime-filled cloud-covered cities full mystery and excitement. At the time, the films were focused on a white-based audience which caused it to have a “white-style”. It rarely dealt with race. Film Noir in it classic period was thrilling and funny at the same time. I think Film Noir was the best type of film in its time which is why so many great films were based on this type.