Neo-noir films typically feature low-key lighting, unreliable first-person narrators, and urban settings to convey mystery and moral ambiguity. They commonly employ dark tones, questionable perspectives from biased protagonists, and femme fatales subjected to the male gaze. Narratives often involve an apathetic protagonist who becomes engaged in a moral crusade after a triggering event. Character archetypes from Propp's theory, like heroes, villains, and princesses, are also frequently present in neo-noir films.

4.  The lighting in most of the Neo – Noir films have
low-key lighting suggesting mystery and
suspence, however a countertype to this is the film
 The sound is mostly diegetic, however there are a
lot of neo-noir films that have non-diegetic sound,
the non-diegetic sound usually consists of a loud
droning which conveys the unreliableness of the
narrator (Memento) as the viewer does not know
what is going on and leads back to the hegemonic
codes.
 Mise-en-scene consists of a downtown urban
location or even dirty, dark rooms which suggests
the crime of the city and the moral degeneration.

5.  A usual Neo-Noir narrative includes a first-
person narrator who cannot be trusted, dark
lighting, questionable moral codes, unusual
camera angles, urban settings and long shots.

6.  Neo-Noir films usually have first-person
narrators (the protagonist) who cannot be
trusted as they have a bias on the situation in
the film, as they are part of the plot. An
example of this is ‘Memento’ where the main
narrator (Guy Pearce) has short term memory
loss and ‘Brick’ where Joseph Gordon Levitt is
bias as is engaged in the plot for personal
reasons and therefore has a skewed
perspective.

7.  Dark lighting is usually more prevalent in Noir
films however the convention has continued
over to the Neo-Noir genre. Dark lighting
allows the camera to create shadowy effects
which represent a feeling of a mystery in the
plot. An example is David Fincher’s ‘Se7en’
which uses extreme low-key lighting
throughout the film to make the audience
experience the perspective that they’re
investigating the situation like the detectives ,
Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

8.  The females in neo-noir films are usually subjected to ‘the
male gaze’ (Mulvey). The male gaze is where the camera in
the film is thought to be male and the camera looks at
women in a sexual way, such as ‘The Silence of The Lambs’
is a perfect example of the male gaze where Jodie Foster is
completely objectified by the camera and all the male
characters around her.
 Usually the protagonists has an apathetic view towards life
and therefore will not participate. However a certain event
will trigger the protagonist to adapt his lifestyle and become
engaged in life, therefore changing his way of life and going
on a moral crusade.
 Propps Theory of Hero, Villain and Princess are usually
apparent in Neo – Noir films, such as ‘Silence of The Lambs’
where Jodie Foster is the hero, Jame Gum is the Villain and
the princess is the senators daughter.

9.  Neo – Noir is usually set in downtown
America in dark streets, the on location
shooting suggests the realism of these films
and that the stories can happen anywhere, and
that is what Fincher tried to achieve in the film
‘Se7en.’ Most of the films were filmed during
night time as well, suggesting the mystery and
the suspense created by the film, ‘Sin City’ is a
film that is fully filmed at night.