Bet you didn't see that coming? Who could? (I wish I could include a clip of the kidnappers with Fido in their car here.) Did we make a mistake? Pick the wrong film for this course? Or maybe not. To get started on this consider the following two questions:
1. How do the females involved with Charlie/Eduard compare with their noir predecessors?
2. How does our protagonist, Charlie/Eduard, compare with the noir leads who preceded him?
We will use this as a starting point to make sense of this film in class tomorrow.
BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS.
The women in this film are like other women, in previous Noir films that we have viewed, they fall for our main character, they are a little bit rigid and independent. These women also contrast in comparison to the other "femme fatale" characters we know of by being a little bit submissive when it comes to chaos, although they are like this that doesn't mean that they aren't slick and smart. These women are a bit more ideal for a family household standard at the time. Charlie on the other hand is an unlikely protagonist because of his fears, I mean he is an only father(?!), we haven't seen that at all, he also commits to ONE woman. All of these characteristics are so different from a "standard" Noir protagonist, as they usually have a job in the investigation field, they aren't scared that often, and they leap from lady to lady. These people and this film and plot are completely different from the Noir films we know. Is it because this is an un-american film, no hollywood? There could be a different style because of the time period? Or is it just because this theme is more important in France because there isn't really a "Hollywood".
ReplyDeleteThe female characters in this film are much more active than in the previous films we have watched. Lena plays a very active role in assisting Charlie with helping his siblings escape the gangsters. The other female characters we have seen in the previous films, except for maybe Out of the Past, were hardly ever present. In Shoot the Piano Player, the female character saves Charlie's life by taking him to his siblings in the mountains after his fight in which he is almost strangled to death. This contrasts with the other films we have watched because the female characters in those films were always getting saved by the male main character. I think that Charlie is most like Roberts, and not simply because they are both, coincidentally, piano players. I believe that when Charlie decided to help his brothers, he submitted to fate, just like Roberts did when he decided to take the car and dump the body.
ReplyDeleteThe women in Shoot the Piano Player are hardly the femme fatales we’ve seen in previous films, though they are arguably still powerful characters. Edouard’s first wife makes a powerful decision when she chooses to end her life rather than live with her shame; Clarisse’s power lies in her sexuality; and Lena accompanies Edouard despite the danger his family situation has dragged him into. The greatest difference I see is the lack of struggle for dominance between the sexes: the women are at the mercy of the men, mostly due to their affection for or attraction to the male characters, though they’re less theatrical than previous female protagonists. I would argue even Therese’s suicide wasn’t for dramatic effect: though a rash decision, she made it because it seemed rational at the time considering the alternative of living with her guilt (having cheated on Edouard). And yet, though the women in the film don’t actively fight against the stereotypes the men place on them, there is a certain element of defiance in the way they hold themselves, something about Clarisse’s plucky confidence and Lena’s response to the kidnappers’ discussion of women--laughing along with their sexist jabs--that doesn’t fit with the standards of the time. These women seem deeper than those of previous films, whose boldness was uncharacteristic of the period and thus hard to believe of women who lived during that time: these female protagonists’ subtle defiance is more realistic.
ReplyDeleteEdouard provides a sharp contrast with our other noir heroes, too. Not only is he not a private investigator of some sort, he is only indirectly involved in the entire mess to begin with. Rather than running from or chasing after the truth, he is doing his best to stay planted exactly where he is, and is only involved in the crime because his relation to those at the center of it drags him in. Fatalism is also lacking: I was struck by the similarity of his circumstances to those of Roberts in Detour when Edouard killed Plyne, but rather than cover it up, he reasonably explains his decision while remaining out of reach of the law as a precaution, and is later exonerated. Thus, the source of Roberts’ downfall, the circumstance upon which Detour’s entire plot was based, is avoided easily by Edouard and thus considered by the audience, in the scheme of things, relatively insignificant. Edouard’s consistent calm and control, and perpetual ability to retain reason, differentiate him immensely from the compulsive, brutish, and inquisitive leads of the other noir films we’ve viewed.
In most all of the films we are watched, the women have been (somewhat) present. In previous films, the women act as the female fatale and flirtatious characters who possibly weaken or motivate the main character. In the movie Shoot the Piano Player, the women play a slightly different role. Throughout the film Charlie is seen with a new girl (Or what it seemed to me). He is only really committed to the one girl who he ends up marrying. The girl he ended up marrying seemed much more fragile, which perhaps led to her suicide. The latest girl he was with had a more active role in Charlie’s life other than the stereotypical helpless women we saw in previous movies. She even helped Charlie in the end search for Fido and risked her own life for the Fido and Charlie. The protagonist (Charlie) is definitely similar to some of the characters in previous films we have watched. Also, I want to throw out that he seemed completely emotionless in his facial expressions. Charlie seemed to panic once he committed murder. Although is was for self-defense, Charlie worries that the police wont believe that. To me, Charlie seemed the most like Neff from Double Indemnity.
ReplyDeleteNone of the females in Shoot the Piano Player fit the femme fatale archetype. Lena does not try to manipulate Edouard, lead him into a life of crime, or lie to him, although a fight over her leads to his crime and need to flee. She instead genuinely wants him to get his career back and helps him to get a self-defense plea for the murder, making her more like the innocent Ann, although not as naive and timid. Theresa became too depressed to play the cunning femme fatale. However, her suicide traumatized Edouard and forced him to start a new life a similar way that Kathie killing Fisher caused Jeff to start a new life.
ReplyDeleteEdouard is pretty distinct from the other noir protagonists we've seen. For one thing, he is shy and suffered from insecurities about his piano playing when he played as a concert pianist,while the other noir leads were either self-confident and tough or postured as "tough guys." The other leads tended to show off and be cocky and witty around women they were attracted to. Edouard goes quiet and outwardly shows his nerves the first few times he talks to Lena and Theresa. Edouard dislikes handling a gun, unlike the thrill-seeking PIs and Neff.
I think that this movie was extremely different then the rest that we watched for two reasons. The first were there were no truly dominant females that lead Charlie around. While he was very awkward the females were not dominant over him. In fact they end up dying because of him and not the other way around like most film noir movies. The other diference between Charlie and the male leads in the other movies is Charlie really isn’t a guy who is used to action. He isn’t the gun slinger that we see in other movies.
ReplyDeleteThe one similarity between this and other film noir movies is the role of fate. In this movie there is much less of a free choice for Charlie to avoid this trouble and he is pushed head long into it without it being his fault. However besides this, the movie was much different then the rest of the film noir movies.
There is definitely something in common with the girls portrayed in this movie and in the previous film noirs that we have watched. They have a love for our protagonist and work hard to get the protagonist. Something I noticed is that in a way they have a little bit more energy or are possibly a little bit more involved in the matters at hand in this movie then we have seen previously. One woman does an active job helping to solve a case, which we have not seen that often. Honestly I think that our protagonist Charlie does have a lot in common with our other film noir leads, and this movie did not do much in terms of branching out and experimenting with his attitude and hard boiled facial look. Charlie could be easily compared to almost all of our other main characters. One interesting thing about him is that he is not really accustomed to the violence and stuff that occurred (in my opinion).
ReplyDeleteThe women in this film were much calmer and friendlier than those in the previous films, but no less sexual - they did, however, steadily maintain ownership of their sexuality. They were smart, humanly shy, and flirtatious - a startling turn away from the brutal, murderous women that shoot their way into the noire spotlight. The women in the films that we have seen thus far have kept up passionate, yet love-less relationships, perhaps going so far as to kill (or kill for) their person of interest. As seen in this movie she's perfectly willing to nail the two men with a handgun if given the chance - but she went so far as to die FOR our protagonist, which we haven't seen until now.
ReplyDeleteEduard is unlike any of the protagonists we have seen before - he's a pianist from a family of criminals, though not one himself; he's interested in relationships instead of being dragged into them; he is generally calmer and softer than our other leads, and he is startled by things, but never violently panics. He was content with his quiet job after a while of stardom, and had little interest in finding out what happened with his brother that got him into trouble - not to mention his reluctance to be involved. He had logic, but the inability to carry out what it dictated - he doesn't even realize that she's walked away by the time he offers her a drink, and he didn't listen to himself when his wife was on the edge. Eduard is smart, moral, calm, but not without fear or confusion.
The women are different to the core. I believe that Lena is both sincere and honest in her actions and words,
ReplyDeleteand honestly cares for Charlie. This is a stark contrast to what we've observed so far; in the previous movies we've seen woman who are both deceiving and have intentions that hurt the male protagonists. Charlie's late wife--even though she disagrees with Charlie during his career--has no plans of her own that concern Charlie's demise. While viewers may have their own opinion about them, it's clear that they don't play the femme fatale role. The drama and conflict in the film centers around the two gangsters.
As a noir character, Charlie is very different. All of the characters we've observed are very suave, quick and smooth talking. Charlie is insecure, quiet and shy. He's a washed up dive bar piano player. It's his lack of confidence that makes him atypical, as he is neither a heartless bully like Mike Hammer or an accomplished business man like Jeff Bailey. There's a sad sweetness that comes with Charlie--I strongly suspect it comes from the death of his wife. However, like Bailey, he is trying to live a new life and put away his demons, but his past grabs him by the ankles and drags him back into the midst of everything he wants to forget.
The women in this Film were very powerful. They made tough decisions and were more complex than women in modern movies. The end where that woman( I forgot her name) goes through the bullets and dies in the snow is sad and can be symbolic of many things.
ReplyDeleteCharlie seemed not as cool as any of the other leads. He wasn't really caught up any evil urges like Neff but he wasn't solving mysteries like Marlowe. He was caught in fate like Roberts from detour. Charlie didn't seem as complex or as cool as Neff or Marlowe.