I, Anna (2012)

Continuing with the theme of film festival intrigues that I missed, is I, Anna, a noir thriller starring Charlotte Rampling and Gabriel Byrne.  It's directed by Rampling's son, Barnaby Southcombe (great name!), an accomplished television director who adapted the story from Elsa Lewin's novel of the same name.  I'm not as familiar with Rampling's career as I probably should be, but she is quite recognizable.  And Gabriel Byrne is always great to watch.  In this film, they both bring a lonely world-weariness, perfect for a film noir.  Their faces are so complex, so many emotions tied up in subtle movements: mystery, sadness, repressed aggression and sexuality, a dark past -- all hallmarks of the classic noir characters.  Byrne plays a detective investigating a murder with possible links to Rampling's femme fatale.  Like so many detectives before him, he seems to fall for her, getting closer than he should -- surely it will obscure his judgment and complicate the investigation.  And is she genuine in her interest of him, or is it all just a facade?  Looking forward to see this neo-noir too.

HOUSE OF GAMES (1987)

Written and directed by David Mamet.

If you are familiar with Mamet, you know that he is known for his incredible smart and intricate plots, as well as his colourful dialogue, and in HOUSE OF GAMES, his debut feature film, he shines.  I just watched this and it was brilliant!  I'm trying to remember where I heard about it, but I'm glad I put it on my "to-watch" list when I did because this is truly a hidden gem of a film.  It is a sharp and witty neo-noir, steeped in expressive lighting, paranoia, twists and turns, and dynamic characters.  It is a world where it is impossible to know who to trust, and even the protagonist's motives are dubious.

Straight-edged Dr. Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse)

The story is that of a successful therapist who has recently hit it big with a best-selling self-help book.  Dr. Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) has everything: a successful career, burgeoning fame, money, and respect from her peers, but something seems to be missing in her precise and regulated life.  She is a workaholic, and has become so engrossed in her cases that she has begun to blend her own life with that of her subjects.  A friend suggests she step back and take time to enjoy life, to do something that excites her, now she has accomplished some life goals.  Taking this advice, she follows up a lead and visits a man, Mike (Joe Montegna) who is putting one of her clients under extreme personal stress.   Her patient, a gambling addict, appears to owe Mike twenty-five thousand dollars, and he's threatened to kill him if he can't return it by the next day.  From here Margaret crosses over into the world of the confidence man.  She becomes obsessed with learning the motives of a man like Mike, and wants to learn more about how a morally ambiguous person like him operates day-to-day.  To Mike, and herself (superficially, it would seem), she claims her curiosity is driven by her profession as "a writer".  But deep down inside they both know that she lusts after some excitement, an edge to her life that can give the rest of it all meaning.

A younger Joe Montegna is a smooth-as-ice cardsharp.

What follows is a twisty and turny mystery story, where it is impossible to say where reality ends and a con begins.  Margaret becomes involved in a confidence scheme, but who is really being fleeced?  Characters come and go, but who knows whether they truly are strangers, or just accomplices in on the take?  It is also a intriguing look into the world of the confidence man.  This is not a new or original topic to be explored in film, but under Mamet's expert scripting, it becomes a fascinating film to watch.  Mamet is primarily known for his theater, but his is an art that translates effectively to film.  At times it feels like it is theater, but it doesn't matter, his dialogue is immersing.  His actors deliver the lines theatrically, and I mean this not as a criticism, but rather an observation.  Like many great films, where the actors speak in ways that people likely wouldn't normally -- for example old film noirs like THE BIG SLEEP or THE MALTESE FALCON -- the dialogue is so liquid and rich, it doesn't matter.

For anyone interested in Mamet, film noir, mysteries, stories about confidence men, or poker, take a look at this film.  Criterion recently put out an excellent DVD of it.  It is a fascinating film, and one that will leave you questioning things up to -- and beyond -- the last frame.

Trailer:
 

BLOW OUT (1981)

I watched this yesterday and I quite enjoyed it! Probably one of Brian De Palma's more compelling films, it is thrilling neo-noir film starring John Travolta as a film sound recordist. One night out recording sounds, Jack Terry accidentally records the sound of a terrible car crash that kills a presidential candidate. Jack is convinced that what he his sound recording proves this was no accident but instead an elaborate assassination set up to look like a car wreck. Jack saves a woman from the car, Sally, who ends up helping Jack--though rather reluctantly--solve the crime. John Lithgow also appears as a hitman out to eliminate the witnesses. From a thriller standpoint, it is quite good. Reminiscent of THE CONVERSATION (1974, Francis Ford Coppola) as well as BLOW-UP (1966, Michelangelo Antonioni), it follows a relatively lonely man on an obsessive quest to prove a truth through technological means. Like the these two other films, BLOW OUT's protagonist goes over and over and over his evidence, convincing himself that there is something else there, almost to the point where the original recording is rendered meaningless. I did enjoy this aspect of the film. I love that idea of having a piece of evidence and stripping it down and comparing to other details in the effort to make some sense out of it. In doing this De Palma invokes the process of filmmaking and editing. Editing is a process where one goes over a sequence dozens of times, even hundreds, attempting to glean to most meaning out of a scrap of film, or a series of shots. De Palma here is showing us this process, and Jack at one point even syncs up his sound recording to a series of photographers a second eye witness happened to shoot. From that standpoint, I found this fascinating. I think one negative point to mention is the Nancy Allen role, Sally. Her character is so un-compelling that I did not care about her in the least, and in fact most of the time found her annoying. And it made the fact that Travolta's character was interested in her even more annoying. That is a huge complaint I have about films: when two characters are only together because the script says so, and there is no chemistry whatsoever. But aside from that, BLOW OUT remains a interesting take on a neo-noir thriller through the eyes and ears of a filmmaker.

Trailer:

Body Heat (1981)

Another great film to add to the list of excellent debut features is Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat. It's a moody, sexy, thrilling neo-noir film that perfectly balances it's noir roots with a newfound and more overt sexuality, displayed candidly by William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.

Hurt and Turner.

The story is classic noir (and certainly inspired by Double Indemnity). A small-time lawyer in a sleepy Florida beach community begins an affair with a married woman who doesn't much like her dull but wealthy husband. Their relationship develops to the point that they realize that the husband must disappear permanently for them to get what they want--unlimited each other, as well as the contents of the will!--so they contrive a plan to eliminate the husband and do just that. Things get sticky as everything begins to unravel and people begin to doubt their trust in one another. It's great! A moustachio'd William Hurt and a sultry Kathleen Turner star as the two lovers, and there are a few other familiar faces, including Ted Dansen as Hurt's DA buddy, and Mickey Rourke as an ex-con. (On a side-note, Kathleen Turner used to be such a babe! In the early 1980s she was the go-to sexpot actress, but now, as my friend Jane so succinctly put it, she has "morphed into a fridge," as her recent appearances as Sue Collini on Showtime's brilliant David Duchovny vehicle Californication is any indication.)

Kathleen Turner as Matty Walker.

This 1981 film perfectly captures an updated version of the noir sensibilities, with lots of suggestive dialogue, classic noir archetypes, great metaphors, and mystery right up to the ending. A great element to the whole thing is the fact that the town is going through a major heat wave which leads to some great dialogue, atmosphere, and lots of very sweaty people. Hot temperature really lends itself to noir stories, as it aids to create a mood of even further discomfort and claustrophobia, not to mention it invokes a hellish environment for our sinners to play out their lives. The heat and humidity are present to an almost nightmarish degree as all our characters quickly throw back drinks and then seemingly sweat them out instantly.

William Hurt as Ned Racine.

One obvious difference between this and the noirs of the original cycle is the overt sexual nature. This film is largely driven by sex and sensuality (the title is quite apt!) and it makes no bones about it. Due to the production code of the 1940s and 50s, studios were barred from having nudity or sex, and therefore had to find more creative ways to convey sensuality, and that came out through very suggestive and innuendo laced dialogue. Body Heat combines this style of writing, but in the more liberated 1980s America it also uses a fair amount of the naked bodies of Kathleen Turner and William Hurt.

Mickey Rourke as Teddy Lewis.

Definitely watch this film if you are interested in the noir genre, and it is highly recommended if you like a neo-noir take on things, it's a great example of a movie that embraces the past films to which it owes to much, but also adds new and more contemporary ideas to the genre. This film is great!

Hurt and Danson, in swelteringly soft focus.

The trailer: simple, suggestive, effective.

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

I always really liked this trailer for the Coen Bros neo-noir, The Man Who Wasn't There. Everything in it I like: the music, the dialogue they chose (particularly Tony Shaloub's words), and the dreamy cinematography. Pretty well done noir, and I'd recommend seeing it if you like film noir, neo-noir, or are a fan of the Coens.