Role Reversals
THE FEMME FATALE VS. HER WEAK MALE COUNTERPART
In every film noir movie, there is always a woman considered to be the femme fatale. A femme fatale is said to have certain characteristics. She is undoubtedly beautiful, but she uses her beauty for evil. She seduces men to do bad things by abusing her sex appeal. The femme fatale is a clever woman, she encompasses everything that a man wants. She is a beautiful woman begging for help as she waits for her knight in shining armor to come and rescue her. She lures men into her trap and when she gets what shes wants, she dumps the man or worse she kills them. Often, the femme fatale is considered the superior individual in the relationship. She demands respect and is not afraid to take control of people and the situation. The femme fatale will do anything and everything she possibly can do in order to reach her goal. She will stop at nothing to achieve her mission.
On the other hand, the male, starring opposite to the femme fatale character, is always the same. He wants people to believe that he is cool, mysterious, strong and in control, but as soon as he meets the femme fatale, he is helpless. He becomes a sad puppy that is stuck under her spell. All of a sudden, the tough and rough man becomes whipped and dos whatever the femme fatale asks of him, even if that includes killing others. In many cases, the man does not even know what the femme fatale has planned, until the end when he is screwed. Often times, the man is portrayed as weak and inferior to the woman and her authority because he becomes like her slave. He is blind to what evil plans she has in store because he think that he is in love with the femme fatale. However, what he does not know is that she is just using and abusing him.
Popular femme fatales include:
Mary Astor as Brigid O’ Shaughnessy (The Maltese Falcon)
Rita Hayworth as Gilda (Gilda)
Phyllis Dietrichson as Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity)
Gene Tierney as Laura Hunt (Laura)
Ann Blyth as Veda Pierce Forrester (Mildred Pierce)
Peggy Cummins as Ann Laurie Starr (Gun Crazy)
Linda Fiorentino as Bridget Gregory (The Last Seduction)
Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)
