How does Casino Royale use conventions of film noir

How does Casino Royale use conventions of film noir?

This image taken from the opening to Casino Royale incorporates several features of film noir. firstly it uses a highly familiar (amongst film noir films) prop of a gun suggesting this character is highly dangerous and deadly. It heightens the adrenalin within the audience as it is inevitable something bad will happen. The camera angle suggests the power of James Bond and gives him a sense of superiority and danger as well as making him seem more intimidating. The lighting on his face suggests the moral ambiguity of the hero figure. Although he is the hero in the story, he still murders people in a pretty brutal fashion. The shadow of black and white across his face accentuates this. It also increases the enigma of the story which raises tension between characters and their connection with the audience. This is a good example of the use of chiaroscuro lighting in film noir.

 

This shot  incorporates the recognisable setting style used in film noir. The wide shot used to show this city scape suggests the bleak, dull and perhaps loneliness of a character. The way the shot is slightly angled up towards the office window suggests that is where the inevitable action is about to take place. The shot looks as though someone is approaching this building and the audience can see through the characters eyes that is about to enter the building. This makes the audience feel more involved with the story, as if they're actually present. 

The low angle shot used here is that of an extreme angle that is highly recognisable in film noir. This shot porteays the character as dangerous and that the audience/passers by and inferior to him. It gives the sense that people should move out of his way. It also gives the impression that he is not a good character, again, the shadow across his face suggests moral ambiguity. The single light source method used in film noir is lighting up the office which is suggesting where this character is headed. It gives the audience the head start that the room lit up behind him is where the action will take place. The general use of black and white captures film noir brilliantly as well as increasing the enigma of the story. His suit and coat incorporates the popular costume choices in film noir, it suggests this character is important and of a higher class.  In film noir this tends to imply corruption within a person. 

 

The business office setting is a major convention of film noir, it suggests higher class. It suggests the intelligence of the character which tends to double up as criminality and danger. Minimal lighting heightens the tension which is a commonly used feature in film noir. The dark shadows around the room increase suspicion and suspense. the obscured shot of the lamp makes the audience feel as though they are in the room, spying in on the action this makes them feel more involved and makes the build up to the action even more exciting. 

This shot  uses the film noir conventions of a single light source behind the feature character. This in turn lights up half of his face leaving the other half in a dark shadow. This suggests the moral ambiguity of the character, half good and half bad. The prop of a gun is a popular weapon in film noir and increases tension. The camera angle makes the audience feel as though the gun is pointed at them, this holds their attention and provides more adrenalin and fear. This makes the audience relate to the characters more as it is as though they are in the room aswell. The blurred gun is another example of an obscured shot, a popular convention of film noir.