Typical Film Noir characters

Typical femme fatale

A woman of great seductive charm who leads men into compromising or dangerous situations and an alluring, mysterious woman. There is a sexual attraction between her and the anti-hero, however he is more obsessed with her than she is for him, this usually what leads to both of them being punished in some way. The femme fatale most often dies. They are usually trapped in an abusive relationship, most likely with the villain, and their life is tragic, they see the anti-hero as their escape from this for a better life. 

Typical anti-hero

The anti-hero is a leading character in a film, book or play who lacks some or all of the traditional heroic qualities, such as altruism, idealism, courage, nobility, fortitude, and moral goodness. He usually has some kind of flaw, but manages to attract the femme fatale of the film, however he falls for her more than she does for him which usually leads to a heartbreaking end when she dies. Usually working-class, being working-class ad ordinary he is someone the male target audience can relate to or wish to be like him, he is an 'everyman'. He has a checkered, messed up past. 

Typical villain from film noir

The villain is quite often psychotic and detached in some way. He sometimes is in love with the femme fatale, and as soon as he is worried or gets wind of her leaving him he is determined that no one can have her, especially not the anti-hero so he decides to punish them both, he ends ups killing the femme fatale. These villains are not your usual villains, they are two dimensional and are just plain, black and white nasty.

Sometimes there is a supporting character, often known as the Girl Next Door, who offers a conventional and domestic portrayal of what women should be like. She usually helps the anti-hero investigate and work out where the femme fatale has gone and how she died, she sometimes ends up in a relationship with the anti-hero which is better and more genuine for him.

Identifying the conventions of film noir

Film noir codes & conventions from jonsaward

This slideshow highlights the basic conventions of a film noir, but after looking through it I have gone into more depth as to why some of them are the key conventions.

Low key lighting and the use of venetian blinds - this is to show the contrast of dark and light, which represents that there is a bit of darkness and light in everyone.
Everyday urban locations - urban locations are used because they are cities, cities always have lots of different people there which means there is usually lots of crimes there; people find it more scary and intimidating to walk about cities at night because they are more likely to be hurt or get attacked in a dark city by themselves.
Sound - this is important for film noir because there is always, usually a  romance between the femme fatale and anti-hero and music plays in the background to reflect seduction and romance. Heavy breathing and footsteps build up tension, because you know someone is running because they are scared and afraid because if they stop they will be attacked. Voice over of protagonist, so the audience understand and know who the lead character is and who's perspective they are watching it from.