The figure of femme fatale is strongly shown in this film in the scene at the cabin that the two heroes meet. The detective ' s partner has followed him after the double-crossing and a fight between them is not a surprise. Then she looks at the detective and tells him “ Why don ' t you break his head, Jeff? ” . The two partners start to fight over her when she overtly kills the detective ' s partner. “ You wouldn ' t have killed him “ she says with no guilt, when he asks the reason.
But the detective himself can ' t understand what is that, that this woman has and magnetises him so much. Making him unable to act sensibly. This is ultimately shown when he says “ There was still something about her that got me. A kind of magic, I don ' t know ”. That ' s exactly the main point for the femme fatale ' existence and strong presence in cinema. They all wonder what does she has and makes people forget their personality.
The Battle Between the "Good"' and the "Bad" Woman
What makes the femme fatale even more irresistible is the comparison with the innocent woman ' s feature. The former housewife ' s stereotype is depicted in this movie by Anna. The immoral past and the rightful present of the detective ' s life makes the femme fatale an everlasting stigma. His girlfriend Anna is loyal, honest, kind with an innocent face and a pure heart. Always admiring his decency and power. Always depending on him and looking high on his way of living. Even admiring his secret past and promising to be always there for him, no matter what. She refuses to believe, that he has committed two murders, when they are trying to frame him, and she tell him “ Everything you say to me I believe ” . The absolute loyal figure of a kind woman that follows the social stereotypes and norms. Her only sin is that she loves him and in a way disobeys his parents orders to keep on seeing him. She even accepts his love for Kathy when he almost admits that he still thinks about her. She forgives him everything a long as they can be together.
On the other hand, the femme fatale is her opponent on a war to win the hero ' s heart. A war that is totally uneven. The powerful and alluring femme fatale owns his heart even if they are not together. She will always win the stereotype of the kind woman maybe because the adventure she offers in the hero ' s life is more interesting and passionate than a simple way of living in a “ small house on a lake ” . Even if the detective claims in the beginning of the movie that the only thing he would wish for is to marry the kind Anne, in the end he leaves her for the intriguing Kathy. It ' s above his power to act in another way. Even if he has feelings for Anne, he would never refuse the mysterious Kathy.
The conflict between the good and the bad in the women ' s character raises in the end of the movie when Anne forgives him, when she asks the boy that works with him if the detective was about to leave with Kathy and he nodes positively. He has abandoned her for a woman that killed him. And that makes the comparison even harder. The femme fatale shoots him when she has to confront the police. It ' s her only way out to survive but like in ancient Greek tragedies the catharsis comes with her death by a policeman.
That ' s one of the great differences between the first femme fatale stereotype of the classic period and the ones that followed. This early figure had to die in the end, in a way that would be an example / punishment, since the society was not ready to accept her “victory ” in the end. The audience had accepted her as a character in the cinema but it was too premature to deal with the fact, that this specific stereotype would have win over the loyal and moral housewife ' s model. There had to be a sort of “ payback ' time for her. She had to be punished for her sins. That totally changed throughout the years since society learned and mostly accepted the fact that “ bad guys ” do exist.
The Neo-Noir Period: “The Killers”
The 60 ' s and the 70 ' s is an era stigmatised by the war in Vietnam, social revolutions, conflicts and democratisation of nations. A period of sexual liberation and woman ' s emancipation. On that path, the film noir movies had to step on and evolve, on grounds that seemed even like “ nostalgic memories from the past ” . A past that now was formed in a post modern frame of commercialisation and cynicism. The former sense of black and white rainy small places where in a way “ replaced ” by a more aggressive and violent scenery of shooting and craven for money. Corruption in a society that was experimenting in the dangerous filed of “ putrescence ” . In a period overwhelmed by political, social and economic crisis, the film noir movies “ attached ” their themes on this atmosphere.
