To be honest, I had no idea what film noir was before I read these articles. I had an idea that it would be a dark themed film, but definitely not to the extent that it truly was. Christ in Concrete was one of the saddest films I’ve seen in a while. I mean who wants to have a story where bad guy turns good only to die in the end. But, I think that’s probably what the most important aspect of film noir is, a dark theme and a sad story.
According to the first reading, the point of film noir is to be dark. Literally dark. This shows in Christ in Concrete because of the low-key lighting. The fact that low-key lighting is used makes the film that much more eerie and indescribable. I love the fact that there is a huge amount of contrast between light and dark. In the scene where Jeremiah is waiting for Kathleen to get home after he slaps his wife is one of these moments. It is so dark that Jeremiah almost gets lost in the doorway, but Kathleen almost shines through the darkness from the backlighting of a streetlight.
Although the readings didn’t really cover it, I think the most important aspect of film noir is its story. Would the film truly be considered film noir is it didn’t have such a tragic story? Jeremiah was such an antihero that when he died in the end one couldn’t help but feel relieved. His wife ended up getting more money out of his death than she would have gotten from him being alive.
I actually really enjoyed this film, surprisingly enough. The lighting and the story really made it worth watching, besides the fact that it was required. When I think back on some of the films we’ve seen already, I’m curious if The Pawnbroker can be considered film noir? Also as a totally unrelated side note, the title makes a lot more sense after watching that surprise ending!
