Sin City: Lighting in the Film Noir Genre

Film: Sin City

Released: April 2005

Genre: Film Noir (Crime Thriller)

Director: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quintin Tarantino

Writer: Frank Miller

Major Actors: Josh Harnet, Mickey Rourke, Jamie King, Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro

Sin City is based on a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. Low key lighting was used throughout the entire film which is typical of the film noir genre. According to The Beat, a blog by Premiumbeat.com (n.d) “Using low-key lighting as well as emphasizing shadows and harsh lighting, the film noir look captured the dark side of American life: urban crime, mobsters and thieves”.

The benefits of this style being used was to give the film a comic book feel which would appeal to the fans of graphic novels. This lighting technique contributed to the theme because the use of high contrast and low key lighting created a distinct difference between light and darkness in this black and white film. The film used splashes of color: a red dress, red lipstick, green and blue eyes, to create a well-defined visual effect.

An example of how the low key lighting technique suited this genre would be the opening scene called “The Customer is Always Right, Part I”. In this scene, we see The Salesman (Harnett) approaching a woman on the balcony of a penthouse. From the narration, and the interaction between the characters, we assume that this will be a romantic moment. But due to shadowing and harsh lighting, the audience should expect otherwise (death, darkness, betrayal) which is typical of the film noir genre.

If traditional three point lighting or high key lighting were used, this scene would have been much different. The audience, in my opinion, would have been surprised by the outcome but the dramatic effect would have been lessened. The contrast of her red dress and her green eyes would have been less vivid. The entire mood of the scene would have been less dark and more emotionally and definitely visually lighter. 

The film noir genre must be dark, mysterious and full of shadows. These elements are what adds to the intrigue, depth and darkness of these types of films.

References

Burns, Sean. "Sin City." Prezi.com. N.p., 7 May 2014. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. 

RiddleofVisuality. "The Customer Is Always Right." YouTube. YouTube, 23 Mar. 2009. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.