Neo-noir or contemporary film noir is a style of film created from the 1970s and onwards. It contains similar aspects to the genre of Classic Film Noir, but with updated themes, visual contents and style that were not present before.
Neo-noir still has essences of mystery and crime, with bleak storylines and tend to end out the same; in dread and disaster. Someone will always end up at a loss, whether it be of a life, a loved one, a huge sum of money and much more, leaving devistation.
As far as noir films go, there always has to be a femme fetale, so to mess with the mind of the protagonist. In films such as 'Brick' there are more than one female; keeping you guessing as to which one is doing the wrong. This leaves the viewer to almost join in the crime and mystery as they are sat there contemplating on who is messing who around.Neo-noir has its differences to Classic Noir, being that most are shot in colour. However, this does not mean that the dull, dark element has been lifted; neo-noirs still use low key lighting and a wide use of shadows to keep the depressing mood in shot.
Stories used in neo-noirs tend to be around contemporary issues, and Mise-en-scene changed to a more updated version. It is very effective, and as it is contemporary and up to date more viewers are bound to watch it, apposed to films back in the 1940s.
