One aspect of film noir, according to Place and Peterson’s piece on visual motifs of film noir, that I found particularly striking in Christ in Concrete is stunning camera work. Oftentimes there are close ups or medium shots on the main characters in the film. This gives a sort of feeling of claustrophobia. It makes the viewer seem nervous and really uncertain about what is happening in the film and how they should feel about it. These relatively close shots allow you to see every detail of the characters. It allows the viewer, in a way, to feel like they can look into the soul of the character on screen. I specifically remember being especially affected by how clearly I could see Nunziata’s character grow and change. The audience watches her progress from being a beautiful and naïve young lady into being a hardened and experienced woman who has lived through some very hard and trying times. This becomes very evident through the change in her expression and stature becomes very dark and reflects the actions of the film as it progresses
Another visual aspect that I found particularly striking is its use of a deep focus. Like the close up, it allows the audience to see practically every detail of every shot, even when the shot is dark and full of shadows, which is another visual characteristic of film noir. Despite the darkness and shadows in every scene every figure is in sharp focus. This adds an element of suspense and adds to the claustrophobic feelings that film noir instills in its viewers. According to Place and Peterson, this deep focus allows for the viewer to make the connection that the protagonist and his or her environment are directly interconnected and related. The dirty, gritty streets that Geremio and Nunziata interact with on a daily basis mold their actions. They cannoy have the life they want which leads Geremio to betray Nunziata and Nunziata to become a hardened woman, very unlike the cheerful and afraid young girl that she was when she initially entered the storyline of the film.
