Generic Conventions of The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia is a neo-noir crime thriller based on the murder of Elizabeth Short, of who was the victim of a much publicised murder in 1947. Her death is one of the oldest unsolved murder cases in Los Angele’s history and he body was left mutilated and sliced in half at the waist. The film takes interest in the investigation of her death.

Composition

This photograph below is from the 2006 version of The Black Dahlia featuring Scarlett Johansson. In this scene Bucky realises that he actually loves his LAPD partner’s long-time girlfriend Kay Lake and not actually the femme fatale of this film, Madeleine. Kay however is said to be the girl next door in this noir film. He has come to be with her, where he feels he belongs. This is the very end of the film.

The way Kay is looking back through her apartment it is as if she is asking for forgiveness from Lee as she is now with his partner. Now this composition is very different to that of a general film noir in the 40’s/50’s as usually it is the everyman in the foreground with the femme fatale or girl next door in the background. In the usual noir the everyman would be in the foreground as though the other woman is in the back of his mind or as though she is always watching him. Whereas, this is a different snap shot for a general film noir, as is that the film is actually coloured (saturated) rather than the typical black and white.

Mise-en-scene

The mise-en-scene in this film is rather typical to that of a normal film noir as Kay and Madeleine both have cigarette holders and the smoke from them trail their posture in a glamourous way. The photograph of Madeleine in the photograph below shows the costume she wears almost throughout the film.

Her hair however compared to that of a typical femme fatale is rather flat and pulled back when usually it is all tied in curls. The cut of this shows very much of Madeleine’s curves and cleavage to make her seem sexy and exotic, making men surround her. Similar, to that of the mythical mermaid sirens. The men all wear suits and costume in this film as well due to them being in LAPD uniform making them look smart. Even though this is a very new film noir (2006) the costume and acting is that of the same as the typical in the 40’s/50’s. The femme fatale is extremely independent and feels powerful, she believes throughout the film she will get as she wishes.

Narrative Structure

The narrative structure of The Black Dahlia is very similar to that of a normal film noir as you have all the characters needed: everyman, femme fatale, girl next door and villain. The film starts with the ending but not in the way that typical film noirs do because they do not have the slow flash backs as such. However the ending where the femme fatale gets murdered and then the everyman ends up with the girl next door is the approach of film noir films, generally speaking.

Reflective comment:

I will need to add a sound caption and a small amount of music from the film such as when the femme fatale appears and it is more of a seductive feel. I would also like to add the trailer or short clips of the film itself.