Femme Fatales

The femme fatale was first introduced in the film noir of the 1940s. Her main interest was money, power and meaningless sex, and used their seduction as a means to exploit men. In many respects, that she signified male fears of women, following women's involvement in the war.

To some degree, the femme fatale seemed to challenge conventional stereotypes of women, as she was given power, which seemingly worried the patriarchal foundations in the 1940s. As well as this, the femme fatales seemed assert their dominance on screen, as they were commanding and rebellious, for example, they smoked cigarettes and were quite masculine, in terms of clothing, as seen in 'Double Indemnity' (1944).

Histrorical Examples of femme fatales

Rita Hayworth - Gilda (1946)



In this scene from Gilda (1946), Johnny (Glenn Ford) is introduced by Ballin Mundson (George Macready) to his wife Gilda( Rita Hayworth). Gilda is flicks her hair in a seductive manner in a close up shot, which connotes her more vivacious personality. As Johnny looks at Gilda, his facial expression connotes shock, as he is confounded by her beauty.

As he ogles at Gilda, she lifts the shoulders from her dress, which connotes that she is quite sexualised and quite immoral, which would leave 1940s audiences shocked. Alongside this, the diegitic sound of the jazz music on the radio connotes seduction, as the saxophone sound is a symbol of passion.

Gradually the camera conveys the elegant frame of Gilda in a long shot, wearing a long dress which is revealing and connotes her liberty and vivacious appearance. Gilda is a femme fatale, as she closes the radio and lifts a cigarette from the ash tray, which signifies that she is rebellious, as the cigarette is a phallic symbol and is associated with the film noir genre. This film gives an alternative representation of women as being powerful and unfaithful, as before, women would be expected to be passive and would be constructed as Proppian princesses.

As well as her physical appearance, Gilda seems to be dominant in this scene, as well as the narrative, as she speaks quite seductively and tries to be assertive. However, Gilda's facial expression turns to disgust in a close up shot, as Ballin says that " You don't congratulate the bride, you congratulate the husband", which signifies that Gilda wants to be more assertive , as she orders Ballin to invite Johnny to dinner. Gilda tries to tempt Johnny, in a medium shot by saying that she wants everyone to approve of her, which connotes that she could be sinister and troublesome.

Linda Darnell- Fallen Angel (1945)



Linda Darnell is well known for work in films such as 'The Mark of Zorro', 'Anna and the king of Siam'. Though she is better known for her roles in film noir genre, with films like 'Hangover Square' and 'Fallen Angel', she was casted due to her fine beauty and charm.

In this scene, from 'Fallen Angel', Darnell plays Stella, a ' gold digger' waitress, who had a bust up with her boyfriend. Evidently, this scene signifies Darnell as the femme fatale, as the use of a two shot/ medium shot of Stella with her boyfriend signifies her as being quite loose and seductive, as she wears lipstick and is wearing a tight, vivacious dress. As well as this, she meets Stanton,the protagonist and is talks quite calmly, yet seductively, which connotes that she could be troublesome.

In some ways, Stella is constructed as a character who is quite demanding and assertive, as she asks Stanton , what he can give to her as part of a deal. Stella plays a crucial part in the narrative, as she rebuffs Stanton's proposal of marriage and actually gets him into trouble.

Contemporary Example of Femme Fatale

Brittany Murphy - Sin City (2005)



Over the years, the role of the femme fatale has slightly declined, with women often being the Proppian heroines of films and have had major parts in films, as seen in 'Elektra' (2005), 'Sex and the City' (2008), 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001) to name a few. Though, women still hold significant power in films, as the rise of feminism in the 60's and emancipation , enabled women to gain equality.

Notably, actresses such as Rebecca Romijn, Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie are known for their success as modern femme fatales, due to thier fame and sex appeal. An example of the modern femme fatale is the 'late' Brittany Murphy, who plays Shellie,a slutty barmaid, in the successful neo noir film, Sin City.

In this scene, Shellie effectively conveys the atrributes of a femme fatale, as she is dressed in a shirt which reveals her lingerie; this therefore connotes that she is a woman who is more slutty, flirtatious and troublesome. As well as this, Shellie is assertive, as the close up shot of her face signifies her as angry, dominant and controlling.

However, the use of a close up shot of her face, and high angle shot, signifies how she is more tense and vulnerable, as Jackie Boy threatens to kill her. Sin City gives an alternative representation of femme fatales, as Shellie's powers of seduction, have no effect on certain men, due to her affairs. There is a clear role reversal in this scene, as she is signified as the Proppian princess who is being protected by Dwight (Clive Owen), who is the Proppian hero. Effectively, the film subordinates women as being more active, yet vulnerable, in comparison to the 1940s femme fatales, who were more dominant and trouble some. Also, the use of a high angle shot of Shellie outside the window connotes that Shellie is flirtatious, as the audience gain sexual gratifications out of seeing her cleavage .