Memento

Memento is a very noir film. It retains its femme fatale, urbanity and subject matter. These axioms are undebateable. On another level, however, the film is quasi-horror. It does not need monsters or chainsaw killers to achieve this. It is a psychological horror; and it causes its viewers to question what they perceive reality to be. What if man were a goldfish, lacking coherent memories? The film does not dwell on this; instead leaving it for outside thought. That proposition, however, is truly firghtening. It is something that can weigh on one's conscience; but it is near impossible to pretend to live in that manner. If we are to believe Teddy (I believe the film compells you to); the film in its entirity is a lie. Leonard should not be albe to trust himself any more than he trusts Teddy. The parameters of Lenny's existance are meaningless. When that is generalized, it becomes a horror in the truest sense.

Kiss Me Redly

It may be hard to find subcontext in many of the films noirs. The B films noirs are generally low-budget and superficial. Their plot is cheap, the acting subpar. Kiss Me Deadly is all of these things, but it does follow a path awry from the remainder of films in its genre and era. It hints at something deeper (in a rather awkward way). At first the film seems a common detective story. The plot endures in this manner for some time. Once the meaning is established, however, it can be quickly read as a political allegory for post-war America. The box ultimately contains a quasi-nuclear matter, and it consumes the curious. The plot, in hindsight, is convoluted and intangible. A viewer inevitably feels a certain unknown, something grander that is not revealed. This sentiment mirrors the unknown horrors of the nuclear age. The ending, then, proposes the final outcomes of those who choose to toy with this power.

The Los Angeles Factor

Double Indemnity becomes inseperable from its Los Angeles setting. It admittledly may have come at convenience, but it is the Los Angeles of yore which partly makes this film so compelling. Perhaps it is the L.A which was lost, ceded to growth. Perhaps it was the palms. The Los Angeles of Double Indemnity, however, departs from the modern city. There was a great dynamic in the various settings within L.A.. One could go from the urban office, to the bustling street corner and end at the Spanish abode up the canyon. This, when taken in its

entirity, becomes a grand foil for Double Indemnity. Mrs. Dietrichson's personality and circumstance mirrors her large, secluded home. Walter's role as a menial insurance man is matched by his apartment. The importance of Pacific All-Risk is reiterated by their towering offices. Most cities at the time of filming did not have this same dynamic. It would not have been the same in Chicago or New York.

The Groundhog Complex

Groundhog Day is widely considered a comedy. It is true that comedy is part of the film, probably even the largest part of that film. However, it is also deeply psychological. We see the progression of Phil's reactions and emotions. It grinds him to his core, (spoiler) only to ultimately leave him where he began (end spoiler) His rote memorization and timing of events. His growing nihilistic tendency as shown in the montage of his suicides. It changes his very persona. That said, these psychological meanderings juxtapose will with the comedy of Groundhog. This juxtaposition forces a viewer to consider the ramifications while allowing them a sort of escape from the realities of, and impetuses behind, those ramifications. While Phil still has daily social interactions, the repetitiveness of them leaves him in a position which is psychologically awry. This position is not foreign to creative works. It was famously envoked in The Twilight Zone. So take the laugh, enjoy the film, but process its secondary meaning.