To Live in a Noir World

originally written for Brown University/RISD College Hill Independent

The political/socio-economic structures governing our lives do not work for everyone, and thus happiness is not universally possible. The world is a frightening, dark place filled with sin and corruption. We are subject to base desires, and our inability to control them is often fatal. Selfishness and tension between the sexes can produce isolated individuals who die sad deaths utterly alone.

This is the world of the film noir, an American cinematic style that flourished in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The term “film noir” was coined by French cineastes in the mid-40s and literally means “black film.” This style of filmmaking was born from post-World War II anxiety and confusion felt by returning American soldiers, existential fears of how the world would re-arrange itself after the chaos of total war, and the dissatisfaction felt by those who sensed the collectivist policies of Roosevelt disintegrating in Cold War America. In the years just preceding Eisenhower’s election in 1950 and the subsequent endorsement of conservative values and a materialistic, corporate-controlled culture, the practitioners of film noir often created leftist works of art that pointed out cracks in the American system.

Nearly half a century since the heyday of film noir, filmmakers continue to package liberal political beliefs in the guise of movies that are strikingly reminiscent of the film noir mindset. Most commonly identified as post-noir, they are not always as politically-minded as their predecessors, but occasionally style is blended with substance to create a wickedly pointed cocktail. Such is the case with three films that were in the theaters and video stores this past summer.

Gritty, Classy Things

Dirty Pretty Things journeys through of the world of London’s lower class immigrants. Hotel concierge and part-time cab driver Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an illegal Nigerian immigrant sharing a room with Senay (Audrey Tatou). One day, while investigating a broken toilet in the hotel, he discovers a human heart and stumbles upon the dirty scheme of hotel manager Sneaky (Sergi Lopez): he convinces illegal immigrants to trade vital organs (a dangerous, likely fatal procedure conducted in his hotel rooms) for fake visas. Every character in the film is an immigrant and the film deftly depicts their daily struggles. The lives of these characters, unrecognized and ignored by mainstream culture, are rift with secrets, lies, and manipulations.

Like Robert Altman’s British class drama Gosford Park, Dirty Pretty Things argues that the actions of the lower classes are in fact more complex, exciting, and relevant than those of the upper classes because people such as Okwe and Senay are struggling to simply live another day. The director of Dirty Pretty Things is the noted British filmmaker Stephen Frears, who has long shown a proclivity for liberal-minded stories with films such as My Beautiful Laundrette and Hero. With Dirty Pretty Things, Frears makes vital points about the brutal treatment of the lower immigrant classes in a capitalist structure and the common humanity shared by all the members of a society.

Come in Berlin

Buffalo Soldiers is a raucous satire on the American military set in Germany in 1989. The film argues that behind the patriotic exterior, callousness, self-interest, and ignorance are widely prevalent in our armed services. U.S. troops are shown shooting heroin, selling weapons illegally, and cruising on the Autobahn. When the Berlin Wall falls, soldiers admit that they aren’t even aware of whether they are in East or West Germany.

Unfortunately, the film as a whole is a failure, repeatedly falling back upon unbelievable plot devices when a more subtle approach is much needed. But individual scenes still make potent criticisms. At one point, troops are playing a game of indoor football in a mess hall. A young man goes up for a catch, but as he is falling down, knocks his head on the corner of a metal table and kills himself. His friends note that he missed the ball, but doesn’t seem to notice that he’s lying unconscious in a pool of blood. Later, company clerk Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) and Col. Berman (Ed Harris) discuss the blatantly fictitious official obituary letter that will sent home to this young man’s family, deciding that they will not only fudge the cause of his death, but also that he had several illegal drugs in his blood at the time.

Such an incident might not be too far off from the truth. In fact, similar stories gave the U.S. military a bad reputation throughout the 70s. It was only in the 80s-90s that the military cleaned itself up and became the lean, mean machine that we know today. The film’s decision to attack an outdated military structure sadly weakens its ability to serve as a liberal political tool for today. But the timing of its release, so soon after the War in Iraq, certainly imbues an otherwise fair movie with edge and importance.

Steal This Movie

The Good Thief is writer/director Neil Jordan’s masterful remake of Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic 1955 French noir Bob le Flambeur. Jordan’s tale stars Nick Nolte as Bob, a down-on-his-luck art thief, heroin addict, and a creature of the underworld of Nice, France, who must go sober so that he can successfully pull off a major art heist in Monte Carlo. The early scenes set in Bob’s world are startling – like Dirty Pretty Things, The Good Thief reveals a vast multi-cultural immigrant milieu, unknown to the upper classes, rich in pimps, druggies, and thieves. That Bob and his friends are able to beat the odds and rise above their surroundings is accurately portrayed as a tremendous
victory.

Although The Good Thief is not as overtly political as Jordan’s past efforts The Crying Game and Michael Collins, the thieves’ uses of intelligence and gustiness to strike back against the system (and rise above their dark, nihilistic origins) should instruct lower class individuals in the importance of unity, craftiness, and boldness when challenging the dominant status quo.

Turn the Lights On

Dirty Pretty Things, Buffalo Soldiers, and The Good Thieffilm noir are recent examples of that serve as liberal attacks against a close-minded conservative culture that ignores difficult truths and abuses the poorer, defenseless members of our societies. Furthermore, these films should inspire other artists to recognize that the medium of film will eternally be one of the most potent propaganda tools available. In viewing or making a film, it is important realize the underlying message behind this supposed entertainment. Film can and should be used to fix the ills that plague the noir world we live in.