I’ve chosen to analyse The Matrix as I believe it’s a really good example of a contemporary film noir. After researching the typical characteristics of a neo noir I really believe this fits in perfectly, from the colours, characters, conventions as well as the technology and futuristic theme.
The characters in The Matrix are typical of those in Film noirs; detectives, the protagonists, femme fatale, antagonists and double-crossers. The protagonist in the film is Neo (which is coincidentally associated with the genre). Neo (also known as Thomas A. Anderson) is a computer programmer but leads a secret life at night hacking by the alias, Neo. Trinity definitely represents the femme fatale in the movie, she’s mysterious, pretty and definitely dangerous with flawless skin, an assertive dismissive attitude and is portrayed in a strong sense of power. The “Agents” in The Matrix play the role of the detectives, though this time, they’re not the “good guys” and add a futuristic body to the plot.
Thomas A. Anderson, a programmer/hacker finds himself a target by police when contacted by a man by the name of Morpheus. Morpheus is considered a threat and terrorist by the New York government and is a notorious computer hacker; he awakes Neo so he’s able to see the world as it really is - an illusion. The world, in reality, is nothing more than a computer program named the Matrix... Neo is transported to the real world which is a wasteland full of sentinels, robotic creatures and more computer programs and is informed of his mission: to return to the matrix and defeat the agents, the powerful clones of men who control the computer program, The Matrix, in entirety in order to bring realisation of life to the entire human population.
Just as film noir typically uses two colours, the two very prominent and infamous colours used in this production are green and black used as “the matrix code”. There are a lot of contorted, serpentine shadows and contrasts lead by low-key lighting contrasts. The main contrast this provides is between the real world and the matix - the matrix has a very natural ambience, natural lighting, minimal shadows etc. while the “real world” uses a lot of distortion, dark, shadows and low key lighting to provide the audience with a sense of awkwardness and unsureness about the location. Other characteristics also fall in to this category, one in particular is the rain as Neo is being transported to to Morpheus by members of the real world. Pathetic falacy is extremely widely used in film noirs, as it is here. The heavy rain, dark, dimly lit streets and back alleys reflects the serious nature as well as the obscurity and darkness that the plot is about to and is showing.
Continuity editing is mainly used is The Matrix, just as it is in film noirs, but noticeably, especially in action sequences, the thing that ties the editing most to noirs is is the use of dutch tilts and other obscure angles. Jump cuts are also used when the plot thickens to intensify that two major stories are happening at the same time and tie in with one-another.
The way the story-line is composed (the idea that the world is one big computer program) clearly defines that the film is in every way contemporary; the use of referring to technology and effects in the film are really modern ideas and conspiracies. The noir trademarks mixed with the contemporariness and technological side of the plot definitely set it up to be an epitome of a neo noir.
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