Glad

The Noir influence is seen in the ruthlessness of the daughter who goes over the top in portraying a sinister personality - lying to her boyfriend to get money, being proud and happy about doing so, and then when confronted, verbally lashing out at her mother, and if that was not enough, striking her mother. Positioning: both characters present as tall figures dressed in black. Their movement was choreographed as each spoke to the other, ending with the violent scene that resulted in the mother banishing the daughter to a loud crescendo.

This was fFilm Noir in the use of stark contrast and close up pov on solely the pendulum and then the clock. The tight view later expanded to include the room and finally the man waiting there. The viewer is introduced to each element slowly and deliberately being able to consider each aspect of the scene. It also seemed to me that the pendulum did not maintain a steady beat. The pendulum seemed to set the pace for the film to follow, one of a relentless march to an inevitable conclusion.

I find in Film Noir constant contrasts, evident in the cinematography, and the dialogue. Here I saw the suave detective who is shrewd and manipulative in order to get what he wants. So he almost "dances" with the female character as they move from one room to the next with a pleasant look on his face. This done all the while he distrusts her and quickly and stealthily locks the door. This is what I think Frank meant about the new detective being on the fringe of the law.

This fits into descriptions of Noir through the contrast of the viewer being able to carefully examine the room's furnishings before swing the characters. During this time there is the voice over by the narrator informing of his POV.

Like life, this train is going full speed to an unknown. The engineers (and passengers) expect it to arrive at the station, but as in life, we cannot be assured of that. There was a lack of control from the sense that the train was moving too fast at times, faster than is safe. I wondered if they would make the station, or would they stop in time, would something appear on the track, perhaps another train? I found the wordless communication between the engineers interesting and wonder if/how it relates to the rest of the film.

I also enrolled this weekend. The feeling from this opening scene is of not being in control, not being able to do anything about the inevitable.