EN: Conventions Of Film Noir

There are distinctive themes used in conventional film noir movies these include:

• The plot must contain a emphasis on moral ambiguity and sexual motivation
• Film Noir is nearly always pessimistic
• It normally depicts a world that is inherently corrupt

Classic Film Noir also uses many visual techniques such as: 

• The use of low key lighting
• Stark light/ dark contrasts Shots of characters faces in a mirror
• Dramatic shadow patterning
• Character's faces are often partially or wholly obscured by darkness
• Camera techniques such as dutch angles, low-angle shots and wide angle lenses
• Shots of characters faces in a mirror
• Distorting objects

As well as camera and theme techniques, narrative devices are also used:

• Convoluted story lines
• Flashbacks, flash-forwards
• Voiceover narration
• Often themes centered on crime, heists or cons, false suspicions, double-crosses and accusations

There are also unique character preconceptions for noir films:

• Characters that are morally flawed and misunderstood
• Hardboiled detectives
• Jealous husbands
• Corrupt policemen
• Femme fatales- a character noted for her changeability and treachery and often filmed for her sexuality (which is empasised by her costume). The femme fatale uses visual motifs that are associated with her such as cigarettes and guns.