Film-Noir: 51

Nightmare Alley (2021) is a neo-noir psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. Based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel of the same name from 1946, it is the second adaptation following the 1947 version. In 1939, Stan Carlisle sets ablaze a rundown house after hiding a corpse under its floorboards. Later that night, while attending a carnival, he witnesses a disturbed individual consuming a live chicken as part of the geek show. Meeting Bruno, the strongman of the carnival, Stan is offered a temporary job for the evening. After being ...

Motherless Brooklyn (2019) is a neo-noir crime flick from the United States, directed, produced and written by Edward Norton. Set in 1950s New York City, the story follows Lionel Essrog as he works at a detective agency with his colleagues: Gilbert Coney, Danny Fantl and Tony Vermonte. Frank Minna, their boss who saved them from an abusive orphanage when they were young, has given Lionel the nickname ‘Motherless Brooklyn’. Despite his Tourette Syndrome and OCD which can cause him to struggle in social situations, Lionel’s exceptional memory skills have made him a valuable detective. While working on a ...

Live by Night (2016) is a compelling crime drama featuring Ben Affleck as the writer, director, producer and star. Based on Dennis Lehane’s 2012 novel of the same title, it follows the story of Joe Coughlin, an Irish-American World War I veteran and son of Boston police captain Thomas Coughlin. In the year 1926, Joe falls for Emma Gould, the mistress of notorious gangster Albert White who he and his friends have been targeting through a series of robberies. Despite Thomas’ disapproval and warnings against Joe’s criminal activities, the love between Joe ...

Dark Places (2015) is an American mystery film written and directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, based on Gillian Flynn’s 2009 novel of the same name. It tells the story of 8-year old Libby Day, who was the lone survivor of her family’s brutal murder in rural Kinnakee, Kansas in 1985. When questioned by the police, Libby blames her teenage brother, Ben, for the crime. Now an adult struggling financially due to a decrease in donations from strangers who once sympathized with ‘the little girl on the news’, Libby is approached by Lyle Wirth to speak at ...

Mob City (2013) is an American neo-noir crime drama television series based on real-life accounts of the L.A.P.D. and gangsters in 1940s Los Angeles, chronicled in John Buntin’s book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City. It follows the decades-long conflict between the Los Angeles Police Department, led by police chief William Parker, and ruthless criminal elements under the leadership of Bugsy Siegel, who controlled mafia operations in the city. Set in 1947, with glimpses into the 1920s for context, this crime drama captures a time of flashy cars and budding movie ...

Killing Them Softly (2012) is an American neo-noir crime film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt. It is based on George V. Higgins’ 1974 novel, Cogan’s Trade. Against the backdrop of the 2008 American financial crisis and presidential election, Johnny ‘Squirrel’ Amato devises a plan to rob a Mafia poker game. To help him carry out the heist, he turns to Frankie, a former colleague, and Russell, an Australian expatriate with a heroin addiction who makes money by ...

Tetro (2009) is a drama film written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. On the week of his 18th birthday, Bennie, a waiter on a cruise ship, has a layover in Buenos Aires. He seeks out his older brother, Tetro, who he hasn’t seen in years and currently lives with Miranda. However, Tetro is a burnt-out case; he’s emotionally distant yet somewhat welcoming to his sibling. As they reconnect, Bennie uncovers pages of Tetro’s unfinished novel, which sparks their curiosity about their elusive father and the past that haunts them both. Despite Tetro’s reluctance to confront their family ...

The French crime film, The Second Wind (2007), helmed by Alain Corneau, follows the story of Gu – a notorious gangster who has recently broken out of prison. With all of the French police hot on his trail, Gu must make a swift exit from the country with Manouche, his beloved. In order to fund their escape, Gu seeks out one last job. However, things take a turn when a corrupt police officer sets him up and makes it seem like he betrayed his own team. Determined to clear his name and restore his honour, Gu will stop at nothing to achieve justice.

The movie Miami Vice (2006) was written, directed, and co-produced by Michael Mann. Based on the hit TV show from the 1980s, for which Mann served as executive producer. While undercover at a club to arrest a pimp named Neptune, Miami-Dade detectives James ‘Sonny’ Crockett and Ricardo ‘Rico’ Tubbs receive an urgent call from their former informant Alonzo Stevens. Worried for his wife’s safety, Stevens reveals he is leaving town and asks Rico to check on her. It turns out that Stevens had been working as an FBI informant but has now been compromised. The detectives quickly contact FBI ...

Hollywoodland (2006), a mystery drama film directed by Allen Coulter and written by Paul Bernbaum, follows the story of Louis Simo, a Los Angeles private investigator more focused on financial gain than client satisfaction. In June 1959, Simo takes on a case to spy on Chester Sinclair’s wife to catch her in an act of infidelity. While visiting his ex-wife Laurie, he discovers that his son is mourning the death of George Reeves, the actor best known for playing Superman on television. The police ruled Reeves’ death as a suicide after finding him with a gunshot ...

The Black Dahlia (2006), an American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Josh Friedman, is based on the 1987 novel of the same name by James Ellroy. The plot is inspired by the widely sensationalized murder of Elizabeth Short. LAPD detectives Dwight ‘Bucky’ Bleichert and Lee Blanchard are partners, paired after engaging in a boxing match to raise public support for the department. During this time, Lee introduces Bucky to his girlfriend Kay Lake, and the three become ...

Richard Condon’s 1959 novel, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), is a political thriller that tells the story of a prominent U.S. political family and their son’s involvement in a Communist conspiracy. The novel has been adapted into two feature films with the same title, released in 1962 and 2004 respectively. In the story, Major Bennett Marco and his infantry platoon are captured during the Korean War in 1952 by an elite Soviet commando unit. They are eventually brainwashed into believing that Sergeant Raymond Shaw saved their lives in combat, leading to him receiving the Medal of Honor. Years later, Marco, ...

Mystic River (2003) is an American neo-noir crime drama film helmed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood. Set in Charlestown, Boston, the film follows three childhood friends, Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine, and Dave Boyle as they play street hockey one day in 1975. While writing their names on a patch of wet concrete, Dave is taken by two men posing as police officers and subjected to four days of abuse before finally managing to escape. Fast forward twenty-five years and we find Jimmy, now a former inmate running a local convenience store; Sean, a detective for the Massachusetts State Police facing marital issues after his ...

Payback (1999) is an American neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Brian Helgeland in his directorial debut. Porter, a career thief and former U.S. Marine, has been shot and betrayed for $70,000. Following months of recovery, he takes matters into his own hands, using a series of petty thefts and short cons to obtain cash, a new suit, and a revolver. He had previously stolen $140,000 from a local Chinese Triad with the help of his partner-in-crime Val Resnick. However, things took a turn when Val manipulated Porter’s wife Lynn into thinking that he was having an affair with Rosie, a call girl he ...

Set in 1953 Los Angeles, L.A. Confidential (1997) is a classic neo-noir crime film directed, produced, and co-written by Curtis Hanson. The story follows the LAPD as they work to repair their public image after years of corruption. Sergeant Edmund Exley, known for his ambition and drive, is constantly compared to his late father who was also a well-respected detective. It is believed that his father’s killer goes by the name ‘Rollo Tomasi’, a symbol of all elusive criminals. Meanwhile, narcotics sergeant Jack Vincennes is more interested in chasing fame and collaborating with tabloid journalist Sid ...

Devil in a Blue Dress  (1995), an American neo-noir mystery thriller film, was written and directed by Carl Franklin based on Walter Mosley’s novel of the same name. Set in the Summer of 1948 in Los Angeles, it follows Ezekiel ‘Easy’ Rawlins after he is laid off from his job at Champion Aircraft and needs to make ends meet. Easy’s bartender friend Joppy introduces him to DeWitt Albright, a white P.I. who is searching for Daphne Monet, a missing white woman. Despite feeling anxious about meeting Albright due to past experiences with someone similar, ...

The crime thriller film, The Usual Suspects (1995), directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie, follows a group of criminals. One of them, Dean Keaton, is found dying on a ship in San Pedro Bay after a confrontation with a mysterious figure known as ‘Keyser’. The ship is set on fire, leaving only two survivors: Arkosh Kovash, a Hungarian mobster with severe burns, and Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint, a con artist with physical disabilities. U.S. Customs agent Dave Kujan flies from New York City to Los Angeles to interrogate Verbal while FBI ...

Directed by Michael Cimino, Desperate Hours (1990) is an American neo-noir action thriller film. This remake of the 1955 film and adaptation of the 1954 novel by Joseph Hayes was written by Hayes himself and co-written by Cimino. In Utah, defense lawyer Nancy Breyers finds herself inexplicably infatuated with her client, intelligent yet sociopathic convict Michael Bosworth. During a courtroom hearing, Nancy slips Bosworth a gun and they escape together when he savagely kills ...

The American neo-noir mystery film The Two Jakes (1990) serves as a sequel to the 1974 classic Chinatown. Jack Nicholson once again takes on the role of J.J. ‘Jake’ Gittes, both directing and starring in the film. Set in 1948 Los Angeles, businessman Julius ‘Jake’ Berman hires the seasoned private investigator to catch his wife, Kitty, in an act of adultery. During the sting operation, Berman unexpectedly kills his wife’s lover, Mark Bodine – who also happens to be his business partner in a real estate development company. This turn of events lands Gittes under scrutiny for ...

The American neo-noir psychological mystery crime action thriller film, Tightrope (1984), was both directed and written by Richard Tuggle. The main focus of the movie is a young woman who is stalked while walking home from her birthday party. Upon dropping one of her presents, a supposed police officer offers to walk her to her front door. However, it is later revealed that this policeman is actually the stalker himself. The following day, divorced New Orleans detective Wes Block and his daughters Penny and Amanda, discover a stray dog and decide to take it in despite already having several strays at home. As they ...