The aspect of film noir I want to discuss comes from the reading about visual motifs in film noir. I found it interesting how close ups were used in this film to portray the emotions and thoughts running through the heads of our star couple, Geromio and his wife ( I wont even attempt to spell her name).
IN regards to Geromios wife, I believe the lighting used in the closeups of her face changed throughout the film. Initially, the lighting was diffused, portraying her as a beautiful, vibrant woman. A contrast was made with the traditional harsh lighting normally employed in film noir later in the film. This contrast served to emphasize how the hopeful, energetic woman who stepped off of the boat in the beginning of the film was transformed into a somewhat bitter woman who lamented growing old without having fulfilled her dream of buying a house. Geromio even told Kathleen that his wife had become less beautiful due to years of labor.
As for Geromio…initially his closeups had more lighting as well, seeming to emphasize his feelings of hope for a bright future. However, closeups later in the film were darker and often at an angle seeming to emphasize his feelings of helplessness. The darkness of the later closeups seemed to enhance the sheen of perspiration on his face. I thought this was likely intentional due to the stress he was under, lying to his friends and family, cheating on his wife, and making Luigi a cripple. I never really noticed the angle of the closeups until when he was in the pit being drowned in cement. The angle was the typical skewed downward angle meant to show the characters helplessness. Throughout the film he was helpless. He could not fulfill his wife’s dreams, give his children good food, or save himself from death. This movie was really depressing and the camerawork REALLY stressed that point.
