The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice

1.

The American film noir 1946 film, The Postman Always Rings Twice, is a film about two characters, a femme fatale and a male drifter who go to great lengths to fight for their love. The film uses the character traits of these two archetypal characters, together with film language, to express it as a film noir. The two characters, Cora and Frank, have different character traits that enable the viewer to identify the movie as a film nor. The film also uses film language such as lighting and the use of the look of the camera to showcase various aspects of the film, both of which help to identify the film as a film noir.

Cora, a seductive and beautiful blonde, has an alluring demeanor that the male characters such as Frank and Nick cannot seem to be able to resist. She uses this sexual attractiveness to attract attention and manipulate the male character. She is always wearing white clothes that depict her as a beautiful and innocent girl, which is contrary to her devious and dangerous character in reality. On the other hand, Frank is a drifter who is always on the move, but once he sets his eyes on Cora, his attention is immediately captured and in now dedicated to get her and make her his possession.

The film uses different lighting techniques, which helps to add to the film’s overall mood and feel, and also the mood of certain scenes. The film also uses the camera’s look together with lighting to stress on various aspects of the film, such as the emotions and feelings of a particular character. For example, at the beginning of the film, where Cora and Frank first meet at Nick’s diner, when Cora appears in front of Frank, the camera focusses on her whole body in bright lighting while interchanging with a close-up of Nick’s face. The full image of Cora under a bright light standing in front of Frank helps the viewer to see what Frank is seeing, and the viewer can also clearly see Frank’s fascination from the close-up of his face shown on the camera. The use of all of these techniques helps to identify The Postman Always Rings Twice as a film noir.

2.

What identifies the 1964 film as a film noir is the use of different film language and the employment of different character traits on the film’s characters. Both film language and character traits are expressed in the film, and the viewer can easily identify this film as a film noir. The film involves the story of two main characters who fall in love and perform various actions, some of them illegal, as a result of their obsession with each other. Frank, a drifter, meets Cora, a beautiful, seductive woman, who is the wife of Nick, a roadside diner owner. Cora uses her alluring beauty to manipulate and control men as she knows that most of the men cannot resist her beauty. This character trait is identified earlier on in the film when she appears in front of Frank and tries to make him bring the lipstick to her, but instead, Frank sits and waits for her to get the lipstick from his hand herself. This particular scene brings out the character traits of the two characters. It shows Cora as a manipulative woman who looks her innocent from her astonishing beauty, and her white clothing and Frank can be seen as a strong alpha who cannot be easily controlled. The character traits of the two are associated with the archetypal characters of the femme fatale and the male drifter seen in many film noirs.

Apart from the character traits of the characters of both the femme fatale and the male drifter, which identify the film as a film noir, the use of various film languages such as lighting, which is the main technique used to identify The Postman Always Rings Twice as a film noir. The filmmakers used lighting and contrast to highlight the mood of certain scenes and also to highlight a subject. Lighting is used to show the beauty and attractiveness of the femme fatale, and also the facial expressions of the male drifter whenever they appear in one scene. For instance, at the beginning of the film, Cora is shown under a bright light to show her beauty. The use of these techniques helps to identify the film as a film noir.

3.

Frank and Cora, using their character traits as portrayed in the film The Postman Always Rings Twice, embody the archetypal characters of the film noir, which is also backed by the use of film language that helps to identify the movie as a film noir. Cora, typically to the femme fatale of the film noir, is an attractive and seductive woman who uses her attractiveness to lure and devour weak mean since she knows that most men cannot be able to resist her charm. Her beauty can be seen as innocent, together with her white clothing, but her true nature is not so innocent. In fact, she can be described as a manipulative little devil, and this can be seen earlier on in the opening scene when she first meets Frank. Frank, on the other hand, is drifter, who does things as he pleases and cannot be controlled. The two develop an attraction towards each other and come up with plans to get rid of Nick and take over his dinner. This is typical of the film noir, where the femme fatale is a beautiful and seductive woman who lures a handsome male drifter and work together to attain their goals.

Film language is another technique used in The Postman Always Rings Twice that identifies it as a film noir. An example of the film language used in the film is the camera’s look. This technique is used to focus the attention of the viewer on specific subjects and objects meant to communicate a certain message such as the importance of a subject or object in a particular scene or the feel and mood in the scene. For example, in some parts of the film, Cora is shown in full on the screen, and the camera is behind Frank so that the viewer can be able to look from Frank’s perspective and see what he sees. Using the characters and the film language techniques, the film noir keeps the viewer on edge and more interesting by creating certain feelings and moods.

4.

Film Language and the character traits of the femme fatale and the male drifter are the two main ways that identify The Postman Always Rings Twice as a film noir. Like many femme fatale characters in film noir, Cora is portrayed as an attractive and seductive woman with blonde hair and long legs. She is always in white clothes, which make her look like an angel, which is the complete opposite of her true nature as a devious, manipulative, and cynical woman who has the intention to end her marriage with Nick and take over his dinner. On the other hand, Frank is a loner and a drifter who meets Cora while at Nick’s dinner. In this scene, when Cora tries to make Frank hand her the lipstick, he sits in front of her and waits for her to pick it from his hand. This shows that even though he is intrigued by her beauty, he will not let her control. As a result, he proves his dominance, a character trait that is common in most male protagonists in film noir.

The film also employs film language that helps to identify it as a film noir. For example, the use of lighting is one example of the film techniques used. Both dark and bright contrasts are used in the film to set the tone and mood of specific scenes. The film uses dark lighting in scenes that involve some tension, and this adds to the dark nature of the film as a film noir. Since there is no color in the film, lighting plays a huge role in setting the overall mood of the film. Lighting is also used to show the expressions on the character’s faces. The character traits of the film’s femme fatale and the male drifter, together with the use of lighting, help to identify this film as a film noir.