Dave Zeltserman wrote:
... while with noir the protagonist slips morally and then
spirals downward from there. What makes "The Conversation" so
interesting is that Gene Hackman's character slips into a
noirish nightmare by trying to maintain his moral
integrity.
*********** There have been some really nice variations on
the elements of noir fiction through the years. Some of the
protagonists are just rotten to the core, like Thompson's Lou
Ford in THE KILLER INSIDE ME or Gresham's Stanley in
NIGHTMARE ALLEY. Then you find some protagonists who have
hardly done anything wrong. They pay heavily for small sins.
The poor guy in Homes's BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH kills in
self-defense, but hides the body rather than face a sure
murder rap. The detective in Willeford's WILD WIVES is framed
for a murder he didn't commit. What is his sin, beyond
screwing some guy's crazy wife? Those two variations that
trivialize the act that started the down- ward spiral have
allowed a manipulating femme fatale a much greater hand in
the protagonist's doom.
Speaking of WILD WIVES, I have a question for Mario. I
believe you called WILD WIVES the beginning of neo-noir, or
something like that, and labelled it such because you alluded
to some irony of style that was beyond simple plot irony.
Could you expand a bit on this so that I might understand
what you are talking about. From what you said last time, I
can assume that the irony you are talking about is above and
beyond the guy hanging for something he didn't do, and also
beyond the irony that the real femme fatale who brings him
down isn't the crazy wife but the seemingly harmless
teenager.
Thanks, miker
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