Essays
The Hot Spot (1990): No Fury Like a Woman’s Scorn
The Hot Spot’s mixed temporal landmarks create an anachronistic soup, allowing us to inhabit both 1953 and 1990 at the same time.
Essays
Essays
King of New York (1990): From My Cold Dead Hands
With no backstory or plot-related flashbacks, Frank White comes out of prison fully formed. This is a linear story, and we’re starting firmly in the middle.
Essays
Kill Me Again (1989): John Dahl’s Subtle Rural Noir Debut
Beyond its literal story, John Dahl’s Kill Me Again is ultimately a film about debt. What do we owe ourselves? Each other? Those who pass away?
Essays
Sea of Love (1989): The Single Life Is Murder
Despite its reputation as a police procedural, Harold Becker’s Sea of Love is really about navigating the dating scene as a middle-aged person.
Essays
Thief (1981): Burn The System To The Ground
Through Frank’s story, the film rejects bureaucratic institutions, extols the virtues of self-reliance and promotes a libertarian capitalist ideology.
Essays
The Long Goodbye (1973): Post-Marlowe Noir
Robert Altman’s 'The Long Goodbye' is more than just a detective story. This film has something to say about the 1970’s.
Essays
Baby Face (1933): Baby Puts The Censors In A Corner
A decade before Double Indemnity, Barbara Stanwyck brought the Pre-Code era to a controversial close with her sultry turn in Baby Face.
Essays
The Public Enemy (1931): Pre-Code Beer and Blood
Any notion that 'The Public Enemy' is some kind of Pre-Code docudrama can be dispelled by simply watching it.
Essays
Little Caesar (1931): A Slice of Early Noir
Watching 'Little Caesar’ from a contemporary point of view reminds us how little gangster films have changed across the years.
Essays
The Green Cockatoo (1937): Graham Greene Takes Flight
A decade before The Third Man left its indelible mark on Western culture, a lesser known adaptation hit the silver screen.
Essays
Scarface (1932): The World Is Yours
Dwarfed by the enormous popularity of Brian De Palma’s 1983 remake, interrogating the original Scarface requires a close and careful reading.
Essays
City Streets (1931): Gangster Cowboy Noir
Although charming and surprisingly modern, City Streets is best consumed as an artifact of movie making.