BW: Conventions of a film opening - Brick (Johnson, 2005)

Homework - What generic conventions are in this clip? Research film noir. How does this opening use the conventions of teen noir? Include examples.



Nerdy character exposition - hair, glasses

• The girl Laura, in a provocative red dress, poses as the modern 'Femme Fatale' - the female who acts as a distraction for the male protagonist.
• The party that the protagonist, Brendan, gatecrashes, is where he meets the 'Femme Fatale'. And naturally the lighting is dim which makes for a more erotic atmosphere and only makes her more of a distraction to Brendan. 
• The setting of the school lockers is iconic of teen noir. 
• American teenage language - "How's things?"
                                                - "Status quo."
                                                - "I screwed up real bad."
  This way of speaking is again iconic of teen noir.
• In most teen noir films there is always the nerdy character. In Brick, Brendan is shown to look quite nerdy - curly hair, glasses, rather unfashionable clothing.



Laura, the 'Femme Fatale'. Notice the dim lighting.