Femme Fatales

Leave Her to Heaven, 1945 - Gene Tierney



The femme fatale sits at her dressing table and when a man walks in, she does not acknowledge him, not even turning around, showing that she feels that she has more importance than him. When she is speaking to him, she does not turn to look at him, but continues looking in the mirror. However, when he is talking to her, he walks over to where she is sitting. This shows that she is in control. It is said that she was "cold", "solid" and "beastly" to her guests, including her mother, which is disrespectful and would not be expected from a woman of the film noir era. It shows that she is rebellious and does not conform to her gender expectations. When there is a slight confrontation between her and the man, she stands up and looks him in the eye, showing that she does not care that he is a man and is still on the same level as him. She is also shown as fearless by looking him in the eye, and he walks away from the confrontation before she does, showing that he was the more uncomfortable one out of the two of them. In the dialogue between them, there are close up shots of her face with only her in the frame, but two shots of his face, where she can still be seen in the frame. She is still in control and she has more importance than him. When she lies in his lap, she switches back to the stereotypical gender role of a female of that tim period as she seems weak and vulnerable. Her ability to switch between the two shows that she can manipulate situations by getting men to sympathise with her. She also dominates the dialogue, showing that her words are more important than the mans.


Gilda, 1946 - Rita Hayworth



The femme fatale is in a big house, showing that she has a lot of money, which is an ideology of the femme fatale character. When a man walks in, she stands and he walks to her, showing that she is in control as she does not have to walk over to him. There is a shadow over her face, which represents the darkness in her life, as femme fatales are devious characters. The camera stays on her, even when the man is talking, showing that she is the most important character and what he has to say is not as relevant as her. She leans in to whisper in his ear, which is very seductive, and this is also common of femme fatales.


Basic Instinct, 1992 - Sharon Stone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nNS34aS6P8

The lighting through wire mesh is remeniscent of the iconic lighting through venetian blinds of the fim noir era, which suggests that she is a femme fatale due to the light and dark on her face, representing the two sides of her personality. In the scene, there are five men but there is only one woman. However, the woman is still comfortable and in control. This shows the power that she has. Also, she sits opposite the five men, showing that it takes five of them to be able to handle one of her. There are many high angle shots of her, showing her superiority and dominance. She is also rebellious as she is told not to smoke but continues to do so anyway. There are many long zooms on her face, making the duration of her shots longer. However, there are pans between the five men, and by them having to share the shots, the duration that they are in the frame is shorter, showing that they are weak in comparison to her. At the beginning of the scene, she crosses her legs in a feminine and seductive way. However, at the end, she crosses her legs in a masculine pose, showing that she has assered her authority.