Now this was a good film, this movie had a good plot I could sink my teeth into, and for once not be disappointed in the ending by not getting the answers I wanted. I really appreciated all of the different characteristics that were present in all of the individuals. I thought that the many personalities worked nicely with the Noir feel, because of the type of mystery that was going on . I really tried throughout the film to find out who the murderer was, and what weapon was used, just like in those many CSI drama series that are out now. I have come to realize that this film is like Citizen Kane in many ways, like finding out about a person through the thoughts and the stories of others, and how others saw that person. However Laura then is rediscovered to be alive,unlike Kane so i also feel like she in a sense is like Herry Lime in the Third Man. A main character that comes back from the dead.
Laura is a very unique type of film, because initially the femme fatale feel to the movie is present...but as the end of the film came along I kinda didn't get that feeling anymore. I mean sure, the scheme of it was there, like the woman being able to control men with her godly like beauty, and grace, but I thought she was supposed to be the type of person that wont settle for any type of man regardless if her life was saved by one them just like it is described in the Article No Place For a Woman. The article gives many great examples of how through many femme fatale films of the audience seeing this tough girl in charge, but I really just didn't get that vibe from Laura the character in the film. When we first meet her yes, she was that hard working woman that didn't need a man, but then when we come to the end she settled down with the detective...whats up with that? I'm guessing it was the whole journey and experience that changed her, but I still thought that wouldn't have mattered, and she would rather be without a man and still in control. A little of myself wanted Laura to not be with anyone in the end, just to completely be a femme fatale film.
The femme fatale scene that impressed me the most would have to be the scene that McPherson is walking around Laura's apartment digging in all of her unmentionables. At the moment the camera gazes at the portrait of Laura you just get that feeling of...woah, you know this portait, and how we or the characters see it is going to be important. At that exact time McPherson gets that exact feeling that comes across yourself , and that is where I respect femme fatale the most in the film. McPherson was able to fall in love with not the person Laura, but with the image of her...now that's some powerful attraction right there. In our class discussion we also talked about how this way of seeing Laura as an image rather than an actual human is how her character actually is to the other male characters. I would have to agree completely, just with the way Lydecker and Shelby treated her as if she was a toy, or a possession. Shelby treated all women like this , but Lydecker wouldn't let anyone else have her, like a kid not wanting to share with others. I even thought it was funny at times when he acted like a child, like when he was in Laura's apartment and he wanted his stuff back. All i heard was a child going MINE MINE MINE!
I found that the discussion in class sparked a interesting question regarding the items used on the set and certain characters. For example I believed that we linked the lamp to a be a symbol as Laura, because it doesn't really fit in, and it is very frilly and pretty. A question that I have is that are there other items that can be linked to the other characters?... I would have to assume so, somehow. Like the clock could be link to Lydecker in my opinion, because he always mentions it, is seen with it in Laura's house, also the murder weapon is in it, and he shoots it in the end of the movie. However the real trouble I am having now is connecting Shelby to an item as well as McPherson. I thought that somehow McPherson could be connected to his toy game that he messes around with from time to time, mostly when people are talking to him. The reason I say this is that it is a game that needs to be solved, and he is a detective that needs to solve cases, so I guess on one level or another that the game is the symbol of McPerson. I have no idea for Shelby though, i was thinking at times that it could have been items of some sort in the country house or something like that, but its really hard to place him with a certain one. In the end I can really see why this film is in the middle of being a true femme fatale film and not being one.
ok, so first thing, I find it helpful to have a lot of short paragraphs in a blog, it quickens the pace of the read without you actually doing anything at all stylistically.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your associations with the objects and the characters. I think it is interesting that it is hard to find an associating item for Carpenter. Maybe since he is so self involved there is not an outward projection of himself like we have with the other characters.
As for the whole femme fatal thing, this movie was like the opposite of a femme fatal movie much like how The Lord of the Rings is not a buddy film. Yes there are buddies in the movie, but it is not a buddy film.
I also think there is no coincidence that we watched these three movies consecutively, they all share many qualities that modern critics would tear apart. Kind of how Avatar got criticized for being a Pocahontas in space allegory for the war in the middle east.
When looking at Laura as a femme fatale she was definitely an unconventional one. What I thought was interesting that you sort of touched upon was that Laura did have a powerful hold over all three men in the film... but at the same time, all three of them had a powerful hold over her too. She pretty much just went with whichever man had the most influence on her in that moment. Not only does she settle in the end, but she doesn't seem to really even THINK about or CHOOSE who she wants to settle with... it just falls into place for her and she says, "Hmm ok."
ReplyDeleteThe portrait was certainly a powerful, powerful prop in this movie and I think that's cool. It had almost a creepy vibe to me-- yet at the same time it was beautiful and brightly lit and really dominated every scene that took place in Laura's living room. What I think is really cool is that it not only clearly has hold on the characters in the film, but the audience of the film as well. It was clearly well done!
That is interesting that she did just settle with ANYONE huh? This gets me thinking that if she is so indecisive to even respectively choose who she ends up with, do you think if Carpenter were to have blasted into the room instead of McPherson, she would have settled with him instead?
ReplyDeleteI really liked that you tried to make connections between objects and characters. I think that that could be a really important thing to do not only with this film but all movies. It could really help gain a better understanding of the characters and how far the screenwriters went into developing them.
ReplyDeleteI also found the little toy that McPherson was playing with to be kind of intriguing. I think it was that close up of him playing wit hit in the first scene. There’s something about the fact that they took the time to show it in such detail that makes it seem important to either the plot or his character.
I don’t know how I feel about the lamp symbolizing Laura because it was different than everything else. I somewhat stood out because of how it was placed in the room but everything about all of the sets was frilly and extravagant. As a side note, I couldn’t believe some of the set design in this film!
I liked bees knees comment about how Laura had a hold of the men and the men had a hold of Laura. I completely agree andnever thought of it that way.
Wow, really good discussion here--especially how people come back to it. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of associating objects with characters too. It's been tweaking me ever since you mentioned it. I don't quite know how to do it without squishing it all into allegory and making the meaning narrower, but I also think you're onto something.
I also agree with the others who say that Laura isn't really much of a femme fatale. She doesn't do much of anything, and certainly all her portrait does is loom there. She's more like a shiny object that the men all fixate on, depending on whatever agenda they happen to have.