The Dark Interval: Film Noir, Iconography, and Affect

The Dark Interval explores the emergence of a cinematic figure, the "intervallic noir protagonist," exposed to the redemptive force of their passion in noir films. It contextualizes the iconography of film noir in relation to prior art-historical visual traditions and detects a unique quality of "beatitude" that runs through a certain strain of noir films, making it one of the most provocative and affecting visual milieus of our time.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 02 June 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

The Dark Interval delves into a nuanced and distinct iconography of passivity, stillness, and profound self-affection that permeates throughout noir films across different eras. By examining this iconography, the book identifies the emergence of a specific cinematic figure, the "intervallic noir protagonist," who is subjected to the redemptive force of their own passion. This exploration contextualizes film noir within broader art-historical visual traditions, particularly earlier representations of melancholia and the saturnine. The book spans a range of central and peripheral noir films, including classics like The Killers and The Man Who Wasnt There, as well as lesser-known works by filmmakers like Jacques Tourneur and Wong Kar Wais. Through its analysis, The Dark Interval uncovers a series of iconographic gestures, performance traditions, and affective tonalities that are specific to noir but also resonate with a deeper cultural and philosophical heritage. It serves as a meditation on the visual and emotional aspects of noir, delving into why this genre remains one of the most provocative and affecting visual milieus of our time.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501349683