I really LOVE traditional film noir with its dark, atmospheric settings and bizarre camera angles, its staccato dialog full of over-the-top innuendo and fist-like bluntness, the tortured characters with their compulsions and secrets and the complex plots told in flashbacks and surprise twists.
Wicked Woman is the film noir that breaks all these rules but kept me glued to the screen. Whereas the typical film noir is highly stylized and artificial, Wicked Woman is played out in very natural, gritty locations and sets. Instead of shadowy streets and darkly lit rooms the femme fatale sashays in and out of well-lit scenes in a series of flashy all-white outfits accented by her platinum blonde hair.
In a typical noir, you feel that all the action is pre-ordained, that everybody is trapped in their situation and compelled to follow the script for their life. In Wicked Woman, the characters are free to choose, to make their own script. They are very complex and unpredictable in ways that don't feel contrived. When the danger gets ratcheted up in the second half of the film, you have NO idea how it will be resolved and you feel genuine suspense.
The acting is excellent, from the leads to the supporting cast, the performances are memorable and all lend to the authenticity.
Some people have pooh-poohed the ending -- it's NOT a typical noir there either. But it will will surprise you, and it will get you thinking...
Some will argue from all this, that Wicked Woman is not a noir film at all. Maybe they are right, perhaps it is the anti-noir. I'm OK with that -- it was still very entertaining.
Wicked Woman is the film noir that breaks all these rules but kept me glued to the screen. Whereas the typical film noir is highly stylized and artificial, Wicked Woman is played out in very natural, gritty locations and sets. Instead of shadowy streets and darkly lit rooms the femme fatale sashays in and out of well-lit scenes in a series of flashy all-white outfits accented by her platinum blonde hair.
In a typical noir, you feel that all the action is pre-ordained, that everybody is trapped in their situation and compelled to follow the script for their life. In Wicked Woman, the characters are free to choose, to make their own script. They are very complex and unpredictable in ways that don't feel contrived. When the danger gets ratcheted up in the second half of the film, you have NO idea how it will be resolved and you feel genuine suspense.
The acting is excellent, from the leads to the supporting cast, the performances are memorable and all lend to the authenticity.
Some people have pooh-poohed the ending -- it's NOT a typical noir there either. But it will will surprise you, and it will get you thinking...
Some will argue from all this, that Wicked Woman is not a noir film at all. Maybe they are right, perhaps it is the anti-noir. I'm OK with that -- it was still very entertaining.