Killers Kiss - Analysis

                 Killers Kiss is a classical Film Noir based around a professional boxer (Davey) and a ‘taxi dancer’ (Gloria) in the 1950s. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, and being one of the earliest of the genre, the film really takes on many of the classical Film Noir conventions. This was Kubrick’s first feature which remained on general release as he stopped his first film circulation due to his ‘dissatisfaction’ with it. The film was dubbed after filming as Kubrick was not happy with the quality of the sound recorded on set.

                One of the key Noir characteristics used from the beginning and continuing all the way through the film is the voice over by both lead roles. This helps to keep the story easy to follow and also helps character development especially as it is spoken by two people, not just one. Davey’s narration usually comes with the action moving back to him pacing around the railway station, this is a clever way to make the voice over fit well within the film almost as if the characters are re-living what happened. Gloria’s monologue/ voice over is used over some ballet footage which helps to dramatize her anecdote ad also has some relevance to the story she is telling. This voice over however, is not used as a narration of the main story, it is a section of a conversation between her and Davey, although it does help use to understand her character more.   

                The fact the film is in black and white really emphasised the low key lighting and also helped give the film an era which was easily recognisable. Examples of this were mainly in Davey’s apartment but also in the mannequin storage warehouse towards the end. In the warehouse was where there was a clear example of single source lighting and as a result there were very dark and bold shadows created. This gave the fight scene between Davey and Vincent a really dark atmosphere also helped along by the choice of music. The music is almost un-broken throughout the whole film and I think it goes un-noticed in some scenes, however, when the drama increased for any reason and during the romantic scenes between Davey and Gloria the music lifted somewhat helping the audience understand more about the narrative.  

                The use of flashbacks is also key to the narrative and also brings the film closer to the genre as the use of flashbacks is another convention of classical Noir. A blurred cross fade is used to show the transition between the present accompanied by a high pitched melodic interlude in the non-diegetic score. I think this is quite cliché but it does make the transitions clear and the only way I can think of doing this better would be to have some kind of caption for example stating how far back in time the story is taking you. I think if we were to include flashbacks in our film it would perhaps be better to use the caption method to explain to the audience what is happening as it is less ‘cheesy’ and more modern.

                Stylistic shots throughout the film also bring the motion picture closer to its genre and help make it more artistic than other crime dramas. Various shots which stood out for me were the fight scene shots between Vincent and Davey and also close to the end when Davey is running from Vincent. Here is where I also noticed a certain trademark of Kubrick’s; One Point Perspective. These types of shots give almost a voyeuristic feel, giving the audience an overview of the action and helping them to follow the story in the eyes of the particular character in the shot, which in this case was Davey.

 The narrative was also typical of a Film Noir, introducing the idea of a femme fatal character and a protagonist. Gloria seems innocent and genuine throughout the film and so this leads the audience to believe that perhaps she is a twist on the deviant femme fatal and may actually turn out not to be a villain like in LA Confidential. But, towards the end of the film when she believes Davey to be seriously injured and fears her own life may be in jeopardy she turns to follow her gut and bargains with Vincent for her life claiming she doesn’t love Davey, unfortunately for her, Vincent declines her offer and casts her away. This part of the story is never fully explained as her conversation with Vincent is cut short and she does turn up to meet Davey at the railway station at the end. Therefore the audience are left questioning whether the story would have been different if Vincent had accepted her offer. This is a really good way to keep the audience guessing with the narrative and I think it would be good to keep some questions un-answered in our own short in order to do this.   

                I think that although we are leaning toward the neo-noir style for our short film we can really look to this example for some ideas on how to keep our shots interesting and how to create a tense atmosphere.