D.O.A.
3.5/5
This movie did not cover all the bases of what I’d typically associate with Film Noir, and while it did cover some it covered others that I wish it hadn’t. The movie is essentially about a man who’s been murdered, poisoned, but in his last days before death takes hold he’s left to solve the murder of who killed him. In so doing he treks from Las Vegas, to Los angeles where he finally meets his demise. Overall the storyline is fantastic and somewhat ingenious, however how it goes about portraying it is what takes down the rating. The bone I have to pick with this movie is how it portrays women; entirely aside from typical 1950’s notions of women being stereotypical housewives, this movie was over the top in how it objectified women. For example, every time the main characters sees an attractive woman this cheesy sound effect of a whistle, more likely a kazoo, comes on as he gawks at her. This along with the overly dramatic, wishy washy lines about stereotypical gender roles in a relationships made my inner feminist screech. The other aspect of this movie that took down the rating is that while the main character definitely has a right to find out who’s ‘murdered’ him, he shouldn’t have the right to go up and physically abuse and accost the women he interrogates. Although there are stereotypical views of women in place for the time, they certainly would have excluded such behavior towards the other gender and instead practiced more chivalry, it was out of place even for the time period. Perhaps it was in place to show his desperation, not nonetheless it was unnecessary. Aside from these points however the movie is actually pretty good, the filming showed some of the basic evolutionary techniques that developed during the time allowing for a better sense of depth while complimenting various points of action. The plot was also a redeeming factor in that it presented a concept that I’ve never before seen in any movie.
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