There have been a lot of terrific modern noir movies that serve as reminders that the genre’s influence and tropes have had a lasting impact on cinema.The noir genre rose to prominence in the 1940s and 1950s, with many fans most often relating it tothe private detective movies, likeThe Big SleepandThe Maltese Falcon. While those movies are certainly examples of noir, the genre is more expansive than that, identified by morally gray protagonists, dark aesthetics, and an overall cynical view of the world.
Suchclassics of the noir genreinclude older movies likeDouble Indemnity, The Third Man,andSweet Smell of Success. However, the 21st century has also given us plenty of modern noir movies that capture the hallmarks of the genre while also bringing it into a new era in some interesting ways.Filmmakers like Rian Johnsonand Ben Affleck started their careers, while the likes of the Coen Brothers and David Fincher continue to return to the genre throughout their careers. They have added to the modern take on noir movies that have helped keep the genre alive.
The noir genre has also looked at the corruption and labyrinth of laws within the seats of power.Ben Affleck’s excellent directorial debut,Gone Baby Gone, takes a similar approach, but uses the modern perspective to suggest injustice is not always a clear case of right and wrong. Casey Affleck stars in the movie as Patrick McKenzie, a Boston private detective who is hired to investigate the disappearance of a young girl in his neighborhood.
Like noir detective icon Sam Spade, Patrick is a man who can operate somewhere outside of the law but who holds a strong moral code. However, the movie explores the ramifications that come when the right decision is not always so clear. Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman deliver great supporting performances as men who believe they are doing the right thing, but who bend the law in order to do so.
David Fincher is a director whose style of dark and foreboding filmmaking has made him a prominent player in modern noir movies. Perhaps his best example of this is the chilling true-crime thrillerZodiac. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. star in the film as police officers, journalists, and amateur sleuths who spend years investigating the truth behind the infamous murders committed in the San Francisco era of the 1970s by the unidentified Zodiac Killer.
The movie explores the details of the case in a fascinating way, thrilling the audience witheach Zodiac suspectand the plausible ways in which they were implicated. However,like the noir mystery Chinatown, it is not a movie about discovering justice with the answers it gives. Instead, it is a look at the obsessive and damaging toll the investigation took on the lives of these three main characters over the years.
Noir movies likeOut of the Pastexplore the idea of flawed and dark characters having their pasts catch up with them. One of the best movies to do this is David Cronenberg’sA History of Violence, starring Viggo Mortensen as a family man living a quiet life in a small town until he becomes a minor celebrity after thwarting a violent attack. However, the attention also brings some intimidating characters to town, claiming that this man is not who he says he is.
The movie is harsh and brutal in its violence, with the opening sequence showcasing how willing it is to make audiences squirm.
The movie is a great crime story while also adding in elements of a noir mystery as the audience tries to determine whether Mortensen’s protagonist is hiding a darker past or if it is a case of mistaken identity. The movie is harsh and brutal in its violence, with the opening sequence showcasing how willing it is to make audiences squirm.
The Coen Brothers' careeris filled with movies that borrow elements from the noir genre, including some of their masterpieces, likeFargoandNo Country for Old Men. However,The Man Who Wasn’t Thereis the greatest example of them embracing the noir genre wholeheartedly, while also poking fun at some of the elements it is known for. Billy Bob Thornton stars as Ed, a barber of few words who plots to blackmail the man his wife (Frances McDormand) is having an affair with, only for things to spiral out of control.
Ed makes for a perfect blend of a typical Coen Brothers protagonist as well as a noir protagonist. He is not an evil man, nor a moral one, but somewhere in the middle.Like inDouble Indemnity, it is a gripping story of a seemingly perfect crime leading to one misjudgment and dilemma after another, albeit with the Coens' dark sense of humor guiding the way.
Sin Cityis a rare comic book adaptation that is a perfect fit in the noir genre. That is mostly thanks to Frank Miller’sSin Citycomics being his own way of exploring noir tropes and archetypes in an over-the-top way. Robert Rodriguez co-directs alongside Miller with an all-star cast, including Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, and Clive Owen, leading stories about corrupt cops, vengeful thugs, and violent assassins within a seedy city.
WhileSin Citygoes for the pulpy elements of the noir genre more than the complexities of these types of stories, it does make for a hugely entertaining celebration of these movies.
As with its source material, the movie is very much a love letter to the noir genre, with its black-and-white look, its brooding voice-overs, and its anti-hero characters. WhileSin Citygoes for the pulpy elements of the noir genre more than the complexities, it does make for a hugely entertaining celebration of these movies.
South Korea has delivered a number of great modern noir movies, withOldboybeing one of the most influential. The twisted movie, based on a Japanese manga, stars Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-su, who is imprisoned by an unknown party for 15 years, only to be released without explanation. With his former life now gone, he begins on a single-minded mission of revenge, with each answer only showing more layers to the conspiracy.
The twist ending ofOldboyhas gained a reputation of its own, further cementing the stylistic approach to dark noir storytelling.
Oldboy’s hallway action scenehas continued to inspire Hollywood movies for decades, but the brilliance of the movie goes far beyond that.LikeThe Big Sleep, it is an investigation into a complex mystery, but it also has elements ofOut of the Past, exploring past sins coming back in devastating ways. The twist ending ofOldboyhas gained a reputation of its own, further cementing the stylistic approach to dark noir storytelling.
Driveleans into the noir trope of the protagonist who operates in the crime world yet has a moral center that the audience can root for. Ryan Gosling stars in the thriller as an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. After forming a relationship with his neighbor (Carey Mulligan), who is married to a convict, the driver finds himself dragged into a violent world and forced to show how much he will fight to protect people he cares about.
Gosling makes for a terrific modern noir anti-hero as he maintains the strong, silent stature many of them are known for, while also adding a more modern sense of awkwardness. Director Nicolas Winding Refn brilliantly juxtaposes the noir storytelling with some unexpectedly vibrant aesthetics and a synthesized soundtrack that works surprisingly well.
WhileDriveis a reminder of how noir movies can have morally strong criminals at the center of their stories,Nightcrawleris a reminder that the genre also embraces protagonists who seemingly have no morals at all.Jake Gyllenhaal starsinNightcrawleras Lou Bloom, a hugely ambitious yet sociopathic man who decides his avenue for success is in the world of freelance crime scene filming for new networks. However, he proves that there is nothing he is not willing to do in order to become a success in this industry.
The fact that Lou’s world exists in the nighttime of Los Angeles’s underbelly is perfect for the classic noir look of the movie.
The movie has elements similar toSweet Smell of SuccessandAce in the Holeas it shows the admirable quality of unrelenting determination in the main characters, but warps it with how morally empty these characters are. The fact that Lou’s world exists in the nighttime of Los Angeles’s underbelly is perfect for the classic noir look of the film.
Christopher Nolan announced himself as a filmmaker to watch with his complex and fascinating noir mystery,Memento. Guy Pearce stars in the movie as Leonardo, a man with short-term memory loss who attempts to piece together the clues he leaves behind for himself as he searches for the man who killed his wife. It sets up a classic noir mystery with the added twist thatMemento’s timeline is told in reverse, starting at the ending and revealing what happened to get there.
Despite the unique and brilliant way it is told,Mementohits a lot of standard noir mystery elements, including Leonard dealing with several shady characters throughout his journey. However,Memento’s amazing twist ending also reveals darker truths about Leonard himself, recontextualizing the entire film and further establishing its noir style with a far darker ending than Nolan typically delivers.
Rian Johnson loves putting his own twist on genres he loves, notably in playing withKnives Out’s murder mystery tropes. However,Brickremains one of his more overlooked movies, as well as a bold debut for the filmmaker. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars inBrickas Brendan, a high schooler who begins investigating the various dark corners of his fellow classmates as he searches for answers regarding the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Putting a noir mystery inside the setting of a modern high school might seem like a setup for parody, but Johnson’s irreverence for the genre allowsBrickto be a true noir movie in its own right. Boldly,Johnson’s script uses dialogue inspired by noir authors, like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, which surprisingly works very well coming from teenage characters. It makes for a truly original noir movie that shows even the older classics have elements that work brilliantly decades later.
