John Brahm was a German theater and cinema director, but during the WWII as many other Jewish artists he had to leave his country and travel to the United States, where he started his career in Hollywood. The Locket is often considered as his highest achievement, but still it doesn't have many voters on IMDb, perhaps he is not as well known today as he was in his days. The Locket is a story about betrayal, love and the lack of it. It builds around a vicious woman to whom men blindly fall in love.
Film-noir is a good example how American cinema art can be; a genre that is as American as it can be has a French name (black film). But in spite of its commercialism and Americanism it is one of the most interesting genres in the history of cinema. Many wonder is it really a genre or just a way to describe a certain historic age, the 1940's. Could we use it to describe dark westerns or family melodramas? What is certain is its hallmarks; the postwar realism and disillusions, the use of shadow and light, moral complexity and fatal women. All of these can be found in The Locket as well. The audience also gets a glimpse of WWII in which the main characters took part in.
The postwar disillusion; the concrete war is over, but we're still fighting a war in our heads and in the society. This psychological thriller manages to show this in quite an interesting light. In addition to the unique use of shadow and light film-noir is known for flashbacks and narrators. In The Locket there is actually a flashback within a flashback within a flashback, which can almost be seen as a parody of film-noir. In result of this The Locket also has three different narrators, but still somehow John Brahm manages to keep some sense in the storyline. He seems to be very talented in creating this kind of complexity - many others would fail and make the film unbelievable and uselessly tricky.
The Locket is a great example how far one can go in the internalization of the genre. Just as Orson Welles (The Lady from Shanghai) so has John Brahm truly understood the basic elements, hallmarks and meanings of film-noir - one of the most interesting genres, movements in our time.
Film-noir is a good example how American cinema art can be; a genre that is as American as it can be has a French name (black film). But in spite of its commercialism and Americanism it is one of the most interesting genres in the history of cinema. Many wonder is it really a genre or just a way to describe a certain historic age, the 1940's. Could we use it to describe dark westerns or family melodramas? What is certain is its hallmarks; the postwar realism and disillusions, the use of shadow and light, moral complexity and fatal women. All of these can be found in The Locket as well. The audience also gets a glimpse of WWII in which the main characters took part in.
The postwar disillusion; the concrete war is over, but we're still fighting a war in our heads and in the society. This psychological thriller manages to show this in quite an interesting light. In addition to the unique use of shadow and light film-noir is known for flashbacks and narrators. In The Locket there is actually a flashback within a flashback within a flashback, which can almost be seen as a parody of film-noir. In result of this The Locket also has three different narrators, but still somehow John Brahm manages to keep some sense in the storyline. He seems to be very talented in creating this kind of complexity - many others would fail and make the film unbelievable and uselessly tricky.
The Locket is a great example how far one can go in the internalization of the genre. Just as Orson Welles (The Lady from Shanghai) so has John Brahm truly understood the basic elements, hallmarks and meanings of film-noir - one of the most interesting genres, movements in our time.