The film that I have chosen that falls within the Neo Noir style is “Se7en”, 1995, starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey. This is personally one of my all time favorite films and I think it is one of the best examples of the post World War 2 Neo Noir style.
The first example of how this film stays true to the original Film Noir genre of the 1940’s and 1950’s is the lighting and dark tones. The film never reveals exactly what city this takes place in, but it rains a lot. The big city being another important element of the Film Noir style, it’s hard to not ponder as to where this takes place being that it seems to rain constantly. This constant downpour of rain gives a very dark and brooding tone to this film that is also very appropriate given the plot. It is raining in almost every exterior shot, with the exception of the final act where we finally see the sun appear, which I personally believe is intentional, showing the intense desert sun beating down on the characters as a symbol of God’s wrath. All of the interior scenes also have very dark lighting with hard shadows on the characters. I’ve seen this film many times, but in this current rewatch, I noticed that all of the interiors seem very driven by dim, low practical lighting techniques. These techniques continue the dark atmosphere to give the same tone to the interiors as we see with the pouring rain in the exteriors. The dark lighting, hard shadows, and big city location are very important elements within the Film Noir style.
The second example that contains elements of the Film Noir style is an interesting and important one that is subtle but also important for the film’s Neo Noir style but also for the story. It is the wardrobe worn by Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Mills (Brad Pitt). Somerset is the old school Detective on his way to retirement. He’s seen too much, been through too much, and has a negative apathetic view of the world which is also a common trait of early Film Noir Detectives. Mills is the young, eager hot shot, who still thinks he can save the world from itself. Somerset wears the long tan trench coat, with the 1940’s style hat throughout the movie, and his outfit matches perfectly to the wardrobe of the Film Noir Detectives from the 40’s and 50’s. Mills however wears a leather jacket, no hat, is not clean cut, with a dress shirt that is too baggy. Mills and Somerset are the perfect opposites. Given this opposite dynamic of personality and world view between Somerset and Mills, the wardrobe is key in showing this juxtaposition. Somerset represents the old Film Noir era of Detectives who come from a simpler time, the world wasn’t always so complicated in the 40’s and 50’s when it came to crime solving. It’s hard for Somerset to wrap his head around the senseless killings and crime that take place in his city. Mills is the opposite in the sense that he seems to not be as affected by these types of disturbing crimes as Somerset. Mills signed up and volunteered to be transferred to that city and district and seems to think that he can make a difference, where as Somerset seems to understand that the world is eating itself alive and no amount of crime solving and arrests will stop the madness that takes place in the city every day.
An example of how this film veers away from the traditional Film Noir style is that there is no “Femme Fatale”. Our Antagonist is a male Serial Killer. I would say that there is no “Femme Fatale” in the traditional sense but you could possibly argue that John Doe (Kevin Spacey) does lure Somerset and Mills into a trap and essentially talks Mills into finally shooting him in the head and maybe Mills wife could be a symbol of a “Femme Fatale” in a way as Mills becomes the sin of Wrath and shoots John Doe for cutting off his wife’s head, as John Doe admits that his sin is Envy and he Envy’s Detective Mills’ domestically blissful life with his wife Tracey. She is not an Antagonist in the story but her murder is the catalyst that drives Mills over the edge which results in him killing John Doe execution style, probably facing a prison sentence, and allowing John Doe to win by becoming the sin of Wrath and completing the 7 deadly sins.
One other way that the film veers away from the traditional Film Noir style is the complex crimes, the brutal nature of the murders, and the religious undertones and messages. Traditional Film Noir did not venture so far into the psyche of a serial killer with such hardcore themes.
World Cinema Culture 