We watched Sunset Boulevard in class on Thursday, and it proved to be an interesting and enlightening experience. Film Noir is a very distinct type of style and seems so different from the movies I was used to watching. The darkness of it is something I can handle, and no, I'm not a complete pessimist but I can see the best and the worst in people, and these movies can definitely show the worst. One thing I've learned is that if a movie is something easily related to, I understand the movie much better and therefore it makes it that much more enjoyable. No, I couldn't relate to the washed-up, psychotic actress and her turmoil, nor could I relate to the struggling people vying to "make it big" in Hollywood, but I was reminded that everyone has flaws and anyone can get stuck in a place they have no desire to be.
We also learned about the cinematography of the film, and how it contributed to the overall mood. It was a bit grainy, and a lot of the scenes were dimly lit or half in shadow. This further accented the theme that people, like the movie, aren't always going to be flawless or perfect, if the characters weren't enough to show that. The fact that it started badly and came full circle to end badly also makes it seem more negative and hopeless. When we're so used to happy endings these days, (with the exception of horror movies, dramas, and a few others I guess) these endings seem to fall flat. On the contrary, I enjoy an unexpected or twist ending much more than a predictable one.
Right now, I'm in the process of attempting to create a short film with the 20 random clips we were given, and my words were discontented and merciless. I think I'll make something a bit dark as well. I really have no idea what I'm doing but it'll be fun working through the actual editing process. Here goes nothing...
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I agree. Way too often modern movies have unrealistic standards of human character or endings that make you want to rip your hair out simply because you're thinking, "That would NEVER happen!" And the ability to predict movie endings is a strong indication that something needs to change with the film writers. It is refreshing to look back at this classic movie and see characters who were real, flawed people who eventually met tragedy in the end.
ReplyDeleteAre these movies equivalent to Greek tragedies, which also had preordained unhappy endings and were designed to show us how humans fall into traps when they're too clever for their own good?
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