Film noir has a prominent dark lighting aspect to it in which the characters move through a shadow-like dimension. This is particularly true for Christ-in–Concrete because of the low-key lighting. As a result of using this, the course of the movie is changed and arguably proves Place/Peterson’s view that the “shadow and darkness, which carry connotations of the mysterious and the unknown” hides the true character.
In fact, our character Geremio (Sam Wanamaker) is indeed revealed through these shadows and darkness. The night provides an atmosphere where he can wander out the house and freely lance as he ponders the current on-going situations of his life. Towards the end of the movie Geremio spends an increasingly amount of time outside, wandering through dark alleys in the night and reconnects with an old flame, Kathleen. We can see that Geremio is not satisfied with his life. In his darkest hour, after slapping his wife on his birthday, he re-evaluates his search for the meaning of his life.
At first, he thought his goal was to be a father and a husband and to be happy, but there was a void somewhere. Where it is, Geremio does not know. This is much like the darkness, which hides the identity of Germeio because they conceal the truth. We see that as the film progresses, Germeio’s character develops into the antagonist as seen before the flashback. As Geremio spends more and more time out of the house, the consequences of his money-hungry appetite get to him. His wife and him are at odds, he has lost his old friends in becoming their boss, and most importantly, his revelation is consumed to darkness. In trying to make amends for his faults, Geremio turns over a new leaf. His new genuine caring self apologizes to his friends and he implements safer working conditions. However, just like the film, Geremio meets a dark demise, and perhaps the darkest meaning of the film. The unintended failure of the structure of the building lands Geremio into the cement. As he eerily cries for help, the cement builds on top of him. With the dense, muddy compound sinking him down he notes that this final chapter of his life cannot be the answer. At last, Geremio sinks to the bottom and the cement buries his quest for the meaning of life. This scene sharply differs from his near death experience in the beginning of the film at 12:01. As he almost falls over board, Geremio does not even utter a word as urgently as he does in the end. Thus, the increasing darkness parallels that of Geremio’s increasing confusion with life and what he wants, right up until the end.
