Point Blank is an obvious case. In general, I think if you watched any of the present 25 candidates, you will find something of interest to you in visual styling. Some cases use space, snow, ice, small towns lost in Texas, etc. to convey the feeling. Many lesser movies adopt a whole vocabulary of night scenes, color filters, blurry red and green lights, closed-in garages, dark rooms, delapidated locations, etc. but these ,while making the movie neo-noir along with the kinds of stories being told, do not necessarily make them top-notch movies.
"Klute is one of Pakula's masterpiece from his 70s filmography. This director, although making films that became quite famous, was never enough considered as much as other famous directors of his time. Yet, by watching his films now, you can tell he was one the best and most interesting, showing a style that after 40 years is still unique and ahead of his time. His use of all cinema aspects and assets (a geometric visual style, an abstract photography, a smart use of sound and an editing style that never shows of, often keeps the pace slow and works on long shot as well as on "off-beat" cuts) to always give a sense of alienation, detachment, unease state of mind and a silent yet dramatic disorientation that involve characters as well as viewers. Watching his films when I was younger (this + Parallax View and All the President's men) I didn't get how great he was but not, as I got a little more expert about films and can tell the difference between showing off direction and a (not)narrative one, I really appreciate him. Klute is a director's film as well as an actors' one. The 2 main actors are really great (maybe it's Fonda's best performance) and for the same reason Pakula does a great job: because they don't overact. It's a strange and original attempt to make a noir film about the dark and disoriented 70s America, and it reminds me, somehow, of a not so different film, maybe Coppola's masterpiece, "The Conversation"."
I withdrew In the Bedroom, as my recollection of it was that it was not especially noir. Recently I spoke up here for The French Connection and mentioned a number of sequences in which the visuals were noir. Those comments were probably lost under a different heading.
My assessments of visual style's contributions in neo-noir will be hit or miss, spotty and far from complete. They're also that of an amateur viewer or observer, not an expert in such matters. It just happens by chance that I watched Klute a few days back and realized how deeply noir it was. It's chance that I find a UK reviewer who praises it.
Thief (1981) is an easy movie in which both the music and visuals make it neo-noir and in which the whole product comes across as special.
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