Eternal Sunshine With Film Noir Darkness

Paper by Jacqueline Kaden. Viewed on DVD.

Film Noir films in America are almost as mysterious and hard to pin down as the genre they portray. One usually expects a film noir movie to be dark and filled with corruption and deceit. One might think that in film noir the lead male character usually wears a trench coat and fedora. Maybe one thinks about death when they think about film noir. But because films are very difficult to pin down as a film noir movie or not (since the film noir style has many aspects that can all be used in movies that are not considered film noir) film makers in modern times have been able to create movies with a film noir feel that are not considered film noir. These films have a certain twinge to them; the dark, sour, and familiar twinge to anyone who has seen films from the classic film noir period. Because of Michel Gondry’s use of film noir aspects in his 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the film left a much stronger taste in the viewer’s mouth after watching the movie. By using film noir styles, lighting, costumes, and narrative content, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was created and became a classic movie with corruption, confusion, and a fate-driven male protagonist.

Before one is able to explore film noir outside of the context of a classically recognized film noir movie, one has to understand the basics of film noir. As was said before, there are many things that one can think of when thinking of film noir. These things are ideas like deception, corruption, family vs. gangs or corruption, and fate. These ideas are applied to the film noir narrative to put the main male character into extreme situations. A good way to describe classic film noir movies is that they are “More than crime drama[s], film noir is about the passion that drives men to murder and women to give up everything for a moment in their arms. The phrase was coined in 1946 by a French film critic to describe the gritty, black and white melodramas that dominated cinema double-features throughout the forties and fifties” (Storyteller). In narrative, film noir deals with a main character who is often lost or has no direction in his life. He is a working man, generally a police man or a detective, such as in The Maltese Falcon (The Maltese Falcon). The main character is enticed by the femmes fatale, who has a personal agenda underneath her alluring exterior. She uses the main character to get what she wants. This basic plot structure is used for most film noir movies, and is changed slightly for each classic film noir movie. In style, film noir is distinctive. Low key lighting, the use of shadows, and distorting effects from camera angles are a few key stylistic aspects that define film noir movies as such. In 1971, writer, director and producer Paul Schrader noted film noir’s place in society very accurately:

When we look at the group of films we call film noir, we find …a revealing articulation of the sort of tensions that shape our film narratives. This large body of films, flourishing in America in the period 1941-58, generally focuses on urban crime and corruption, and on sudden upwellings of violence in a culture whose fabric seems to be unraveling. Because of these typical concerns, the film noir seems fundamentally about violations: vice, corruption, unrestrained desire, and, most fundamental of all, abrogation of the American dream’s most basic promises—of hope, prosperity, and safety from persecution. Taken as a hole, the noir films are noteworthy neither for their subtlety of expression nor their muting of our cultural problems; to the contrary, they deploy the darkest imagery to sketch starkly disconcerting assessments of the human and social condition. In their vision, crime and corruption seem almost a matter of décor, dark trappings of a world suddenly shown in a new and most revealing light. (Schrader).

Film noir opens up the viewer to see the world in a way they never thought possible. It is because of this that film noir is such an effective stylistic choice for the narrative and visual aspects of a film.

A classic film noir movie where costumes and lighting specifically depict the feeling of film noir is Double Indemnity, a movie made in 1944 by Billy Wilder. In this movie, insurance agent Walter Neff is seduced by trapped housewife Phyllis Deitrichson. Although this doesn’t sound much like Eternal Sunshine, the stylistic and functional aspects of the lighting and costumes are an apparent connection in the two movies. In the opening scene of Double Indemnity where Neff meets Phyllis, there are shadows cast onto the walls that look like jail cell bars. When Phyllis is first seen, it is through the bars of the stairs (Double Indemnity). These are just two very important aspects that give foreshadowing to the end of the film. In Eternal Sunshine, during the scene where Joel is having his memory of Clementine erased, there are harsh shows that take up large amounts of the frame. As the sequence moves forward, the shadows end up engulfing the characters. This is a direct stylistic choice in order to indicate the erasing of Joel’s memory. In both of these films, the shadows work to tell the viewer what is going and help the movie to show the viewer what is going on more than the film’s narrative can say alone. These aspects are what makes a film powerful, and moreover, effective in its goal to emotionally guide a viewer. In addition to lighting, costumes can effectively guide a viewer to a point. In Double Indemnity, the first shot of Phyllis is of her in a towel, her skin glowing from her sunbath. She then goes to put on clothing, and comes back wearing a low cut dress that shows her legs and specifically her ankles. Immediately not only Neff but the viewer as well is attracted to this woman who looks so seductive and risqué (Double Indemnity). This stylistic choice again lends foreshadowing and leaves no doubt in the viewers mind that Neff will fall for Phyllis. Though Clementine in Eternal Sunshine is not a classic femmes fatale, her “look” and costumes definitely entice Joel into falling for her. For instance, when Joel first meets Clementine she is wearing a bright neon orange wind breaker and has her hair dyed interesting colors. Joel (who we know to be a very plain and seemingly empty person) is immediately attracted to her “look,” just as Neff was to Phyllis. These stylistic choices are what make the movie so tangible and, again, effective in communicating more than the narrative alone can portray.

Though the lighting and costumes play a vital role in effectively helping the narrative, the narrative itself dictates how the viewers see the characters as people, adding to the manipulation of the viewer. For example, in another classic film noir movie, The Big Heat, cop Dave Banion’s story begins with a simple view of Banion and his wife eating dinner. Their love for each other is apparent. The viewer understands through their dialogue that they are not just husband and wife, but that they are partners and feel deeply connected to each other (The Big Heat). As the movie progresses, Banion’s wife is murdered in an explosion, and the rest of the movie is focused on Banion finding the truth and bringing justice to those who killed his wife. By having the viewer kow how deeply Banion and his wife were connected makes the movie all the more engaging when he is searching for the truth. This attention-grabbing narrative makes the movie more than just a movie, it becomes an emotional experience. In the same way, Eternal Sunshine shows the build up and eventual break down of Joel and Clementine’s relationship. The viewer watches as Joel is somehow inexplicably attracted to Clementine, and as Clementine realizes how deep and caring Joel is. Just like Banion and his wife, Joel and Clementine have a direct connection that is much deeper than any normal relationship. Similarly, Joel is like Banion in the fact that he too loses the woman he loves. This happens through Clementine having her memory erased. When Joel goes to have the same process performed, he realizes what he is losing and fights for the truth and for love.Roger Ebert explains the basic narrative structure of both movies perfectly when he reviews Eternal Sunshine saying “… [it] has an emotional center, and that’s what makes it work. Although Joel and Clementine ping-pong through various stages of romance and reality, what remains constant is the human need for love and companionship, and the human compulsion to keep seeking it, despite all odds” (Ebert). Both films show a lost, male proteagonist searching for the truth about the circumstances about the women they love. This isn’t an inherently film noir narrative style, but can be counted to be one.

It is easy to see how these styles are effective and how they work together to weave a story that is visually and emotionally grasping. Since these styles are so effective, why do more directors, art directors, and producers use these styles? Take for instance movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Brick, LA Confidential, and Payback (Film Noir – The Best Modern Noir Films), all movies that society considers to be classic movies. Some of those do not seem like film noir movies, but have film noir aspects which make them more effective than if they were to have been made in a more conventional style. One does not immediately think of Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as film noir movies, but as classics. The film noir style is highly effective and should be used more. The stylistic choices of a movie dictate how the viewer will be engaged with the movie. If the movie is disconnected, with drab colors and little stylistic indication of any reason for the viewer to connect with the character then a viewer will be disconnected. If one uses stylistic aspects that can capture a viewer enough to emotionally invest them in a film, you will have an entranced audience. If you use film noir aspects, you will have a movie that will capture your viewer, invest them, and make the film feel alive.

The style of a film can push the viewer to conclusions, lend foreshadowing, give a reason for the viewer to emotionally invest, or simply make a film look interesting. Through the use of lighting, costumes, and basic narrative structure, films that adapt film noir aspects are much mor effective at achieving those aspects than those that do not use film noir aspects. Lighting and costumes help the narrative come across more clear, and the narrative dictates how the style of the movie should be. In this sense, you cannot make a good movie that isn’t visually interesting and is lacking in an engaging narrative. Because Michel Gondry used film noir aspects when making Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he created a film that can be considered a classic American film. If more film makers used the film noir aspects described above, there would be many more effective movies on the market.

Works Cited

Conley, Tom. “Stages of “Film Noir”” Theater Journal 39.3. Print.
Double Indemnity. Dir. Billy Wilder. Paramount, 1944.History of the American Cinema. Thomas Schatz. Ed. Charles Harpole. Vol. 6. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1997. p233
Ebert, Roger. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind :: Rogerebert.com :: Reviews.”Rogerebert.com :: Movie Reviews, Essays and the Movie Answer Man. 19 Mar. 2004. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040319/REVIEWS/403190302/1023
“Film Noir – The Best Modern Noir Films.” Debonair Magazine, 4 Feb. 2008. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. http://www.debonairmag.com/film-noir-the-best-modern-noir-films
Schrader, Paul. “Note on Film Noir.” Filmex (1971). Web. 16 Oct. 2011. http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:jwrBEJFc9DsJ:scholar.google.com/+film+noir&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5
Storyteller, Titirangi. “The Basics of Film Noir « Titirangi Storyteller.” Titirangi Storyteller. 20 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. http://titirangistoryteller.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/the-basics-of-film-noir/
Telotte, J. P. Voices in the Dark: the Narrative Patterns of Film Noir. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1989. Print.
The Big Heat. Dir. Fritz Lang. Columbia Pictures Corp., 1953.
The Maltese Falcon. Dir. John Huston. A Warner Bros. First National Picture, 1941.