LA Noire - How does it use features of film noir?

LA noire is a quite recent (2011) video game, it uses many conventions of the film noir genre since the enigmatic eeriness to those types of films works well when creating an interesting and exciting game to play. Firstly, the LA noire opening title is a typical glamorous lit-up sign however certain letters flicker which immediately implies a possible darker side of glamour, which is something that is typically covered in any films that fall under the genre of Film Noir.

The opening sequence then follows the title, it begins with a husky-voiced narrator describing the disruption within the city whilst classy cars drive past through a gleaming, built up city (with lots of those typical sky scrapers). Then the audience/game player is hit with the line of 'Where not everything is as it seems', a line which could not be more enigmatic - it automatically suggests corruption, possible crime, secrecy etc. all things which are totally entwined with film noir. The opening sequence continues to a clip of a couple kissing whilst expressionist jazz music is played over, helping to put across the glamour and class of the time and genre. One of the main things that LA noire seemed to steel from the film noir genre was the numerous lamp posts used throughout the opening sequence and within the actual game.

Lamp posts are constantly used in Film Noir due to the tiny focus of light on the floor that they produce, which creates the effect of a dimness outside that circle - creating a great deal of mystery and a feeling of tension/danger. Throughout the opening of LA Noire lamposts are featured on every street corner, and therefore the footage is dimly lit and dark. When deciding on the level that you participate on, you have a choice between homacides, thefts and other similar options. This menu is set out as a desk with case files on it, with the titles of the levels on them. The desk also has a gun, a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a magnifying glass. These props are all so commonly featured in the Film Noir genre because they all connote themes and moods of the genre, for example a gun connotes danger, risk, a close proxemity to death. Then the coffee and cigarettes imply luxury, self-indulgence and therefore possibly selfish actions yet glamour - all of which are linked in some way to Film Noir and therefore by featuring in LA Noire is relating to that genre.

When it comes to actually participating in the video game, the player is given the character of the detective and then given a partner to work with to solve a crime or a mystery together. The player is given a fast car, and the ability to take any other car from a civillian if they wanted/needed to. Here the player is given a powerful role and is very much in control of the narrative - the protaganist, and that's where the players focus is. Film Noir plots are usually very focused on the protaganist's journey, the mystery and tension is built up by them and their situations. Therefore having the player's focus on the detective/protaganist, the impression is given that the player is in a Film Noir.

One prop that specifically linked was the use of a torch throughout undergoing these challenges on the game, a prop very effectively used in 'The Third Man' in the sewer scene. It is an effective plot in a thriller since it means that only a small section of the surroundings are in view, therefore the remaining background is presented as even darker and more enigmatic. The audience's eye is drawn to the torches light and therefore waits in anticipiation for something that may shock them to come into view, effectively creating suspence. It is especially well used in 'The Third Man' due to the dark, undesirable, claustrophobic setting where the only light source seems to be the torch. The light from the torch in this scene then reflects off the sewer water creating an eerie moonlit impression and it creates further emphasis on the importance of this small piece of light in a very dark Film Noir. In LA Noire the torch prop is used in a similar way, the torch is always with the detective, bringing light to an enigmatic situation.

The similarities between Film Noir and LA Noire are very much highlighted in this advertisement poster, firstly the location is very typical. The tall sky scraper in the background which is an implication that the setting consists of a lot of action and many powerful people. Yet the dirty street where the character is placed is alike with the darker side of Film Noir, featuring the undesirable locations to match the often undesirable characters - as done above in 'The Third Man'. The characters costume is also very typical of the protagonist in Film Noir such as Jake in 'Chinatown' - the very smart suit and glamorous 1940's hat for example. The lighting not only creates a sense of moral ambiguity across his face using shadows, but across his entire body - showing that it wants the audience to pick up on it's strong links to Film Noir because that is what it aims to present itself as.