Romeo is bleeding (4 Stars)

There are many films that people call film noir or neo noir. Mostly I disagree with the description. Even Wikipedia claims there are problems giving a definition of film noir. I don't see a problem. As I see it, there are a few details that have to be adhered to, and everything else is optional.

Film noir is about a crime. The protagonist is a man trying to solve the crime. He's hindered in his work by a deadly woman, a femme fatale. That's normally considered enough for critics to give it the label film noir, but there's one essential feature that's often missing:

Film noir is told from a first person perspective. The male protagonist is present in every scene. There's a voiceover that tells us what he's thinking. We're put inside the protagonist's head and we see through his eyes. If this aspect is missing, it isn't film noir, whatever the experts might tell us.

"Romeo is bleeding" is a true film noir. It's about Jack Grimaldi, a corrupt policeman. He has everything a man needs: a good job, a beautiful wife and a beautiful mistress. But this isn't enough for him. He's greedy and wants more money. He works for the mob, giving them information on the safe houses where turncoat mobsters are being held while waiting to give evidence.

Mona Demarkov is the former lover of the mob boss Don Falcone. When she's arrested she offers a deal to escape prosecution. She's too much for the police officers who escort her to the safe house. She almost kills Jack, and then she escapes by taking the gun off a young officer. Don Falcone blames Jack for her escape and gives him the task of finding and killing her within three days. Jack says this is impossible, but he needn't worry because she finds him first. She offers him $300,000 if he fakes her death. That's a good offer, but it's not sincere. She flirts outrageously with him, keeping him too aroused to realise that she intends to kill him.

It's a very good film. Lena Olin is the perfect femme fatale. It's a role she was born to play. No man can resist her deadly charm. Today is the first time I've seen the film, and I need to watch it again soon.

Success Rate:  - 3.0

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