Genre Investigation of Film Noir

I investigated conventions of the film noir genre, using 'Hotel Noir' as a modern example. It was quite difficult to find modern film noir titles as the genre is not as popular as it was previously.

The internal monologue allows for the character's retrospective outlook on the story. The internal monologue is generally the main protagonist, but this is not always the case. The character whose inner thoughts are used to narrate the story will heavily influence descriptions of characters due to their own opinions. The internal monologue narration is used due to the main protagonist's conventional lone wolf nature. The lack of dialogue makes it difficult to otherwise put across the protagonist's thoughts and opinions.

The femme fatale in the story is generally at least partially responsible for the main protagonist's misfortune, if not the main antagonist themselves. Gangsters or obstructive bureaucrats are also often main antagonists, depending on the main character's motivation.

The protagonist's motivation is often one of three things, to somehow win over or appease the femme fatale character, to exact revenge on someone, or to enforce justice despite bureacracy slowing the process. This is also why they are often "lone wolves".

The monochrome or highly desaturated nature of film noir can apply to the entire film or simply parts of it, but it is generally done to indicate that the film is a recollection of past events, to fit the setting, which is of course between 1920 and 1960, or to pay homage to historical films of the genre. Some may also use it as a parallel with the theme of 'moral grey', as the main character or many characters in these films do not have just or honourable goals. These can be lust or revenge or many other things. Hotel Noir centres around a former detective, having accepted his impending death at the hands of gangsters, meeting various people in his hotel room. This conforms to the organised crime convention. It is also set in 1958, fitting within the conventional range.

The convention for a femme fatale character is for them to visit the protagonist in their office or home, any space that is theirs. This can generally be considered a bad omen or an act of establishing dominance. In 'Hotel Noir', the femme fatale character appears in the protagonist's hotel room, conforming to this convention. She is also dressed in black, conforming to the convention of her being in either black or red. Red for lust, and black for sinister or otherwise negative connotations.