The 25 best neo-noir films

William Hurt and Kathleen Turner both give strong performances in Body Heat, which owes a great deal to the noirs of the 1940s, particularly Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity. Hurt stars as lawyer Ned Racine, who finds himself caught up in the seductive deceit of Turner’s Matty Tyler Walker, a woman as beautiful as she is dangerous. The film itself is as sultry and decadent as its femme fatale, immersing the viewer in a world where desire can have devastating consequences and where people are more than willing to kill, so long as they end up with the money in the end.

Angel Heart is one of the more unique neo-noirs to have emerged out of the 1980s. Mickey Rourke stars as Harry Angel, a private investigator whose life becomes even more complicated and sinister once he begins investigating the mysterious disappearance of a man named Johnny Favorite. There are some devilish twists and turns in this particular story, and Rourke makes for a fine  noir antihero. As is typical in these sorts of stories, Angel’s investigation reveals things about himself that would have been better left unexplored. The twist at the end is, in its own way, one of the most brutal, brilliant, and destructive to have emerged from the neo-noir genre. 

In the history of neo-noir, Chinatown  looms large. Directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson, it’s the type of movie that, in fine noir fashion, is eminently quotable and deeply disturbing. Nicholson’s performance as Jake Gittes is perfectly pitched for the noir sensibility. The film as a whole, like the best the genre has to offer, combines its investigative narrative with a fascinating and troubling look at the twisted psychology of its main characters. Also, like the best of noir, it has a compelling female lead, in the person of Faye Dunaway, who plays Evelyn Cross Mulwray. 

Blade Runner remains one of director Ridley Scott’s best films, particularly since it is so effective at combining  film noir with science fiction. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, a former police officer recruited to track down several androids (known in this universe as replicants. Like the best of noir, it creates a sinister and dark world, yet there is also something deeply human (and humane) about examining what differentiates humans from machines. Its gritty look, combined with Ford’s world-weary yet charismatic performance, has earned it a place among the most influential neo-noirs, and it has the distinction of being released in several different forms. 

David Lynch has always had a knack for crafting films that manage to be surreal yet utterly compelling. Blue Velvet is one of his most successful in this regard, focusing as it does on a young man whose life becomes increasingly turned upside down after he finds a severed human ear. It drills deep into the dark underbelly of suburban American life and features some truly extraordinary performances, particularly from Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini. 

Throughout the 1980s, Brian De Palma was one of the directors best known for using the neo-noir sensibility to address pressing questions of the decade. In Dressed to Kill,  these center around issues of gender and sexuality, particularly once Angie Dickinson’s housewife character is brutally murdered. Twists and turns abound in this film, featuring strong performances from the likes of Michael Caine and Nancy Allen. It’s a stylish and suspenseful film, and it clearly owes a great deal to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, both in terms of its subject and in terms of its aesthetic.

Denzel Washington delivers one of his best performances in Devil in a Blue Dress, which is notable for being a neo-noir with a Black lead. Though released in the 1990s, it is very much a throwback to an earlier period of filmmaking, which is what makes it such a compelling watch for fans of both original noir and neo-noir. It also features a stunning performance from Don Cheadle, who is at his best. Devil in a Blue Dress is an exotic and thrilling film that perfectly meshes style, performance, and narrative, just as one would expect in the best of neo-noir. 

The Coen Brothers have repeatedly shown to be devotees of classic Hollywood, and some of their best films are thoroughly indebted to film noir. Fargo is one of their most beloved creations, thanks in no small part to a phenomenal performance from Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson, a small-town cop who stumbles into a  criminal conspiracy. It has the Coens’ distinct sense of humor — somehow biting and endearing — and Marge’s surprising human decency helps keep the film from descending into the bleak existentialism, which always hovers just out of the frame, ready to destroy almost everyone it touches. 

Basic Instinct remains one of the paradigmatic examples of the neo-noir erotic thriller that was such a key part of the zeitgeist in the early 1990s. Like many of the best examples of the genre, it stars Michael Douglas as the protagonist Nick Curran, whose investigation of a murder leads him into the erotic wiles of Sharon Stone’s Catherine Tramell. It is a searingly erotic film, and it seems to revel in its transgressions, pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable to show in a mainstream Hollywood film. And, while it owes a great deal to noir traditions , it also plays with and subverts them to maximum effect.

Christopher Nolan is no stranger to the neo-noir sensibility, and with The Dark Knight, he uses it to add a new layer of complexity to the figure of Batman (which began with Batman Begins). Just as the original film noir served as a means for anxious Americans to work through and experience, the disturbances posed by the Second World War, so The Dark Knight’s neo-noir does the same for the challenges posed by Iraq. What’s more, just as noir excelled at creating deviant villains who forced the antihero to embrace the dark in himself, the Joker does the same to Batman.

The works of Philip K. Dicĸ have repeatedly proved to be particularly fruitful for cinematic adaptation, and Minority Report  has the advantage of being directed by Steven Spielberg. In a glossy but sinister future where crimes are predicted in advance, it follows Tom Cruise’s John Anderton, who is framed for a murder he did not commit and has to set out to clear his name. Through its skillful blending of noir and science fiction elements, Minority Report looks at some pressing questions facing contemporary society.

The original Blade Runner set the standard for what science fiction could achieve when it was filtered through the lens of neo-noir. Its sequel keeps with the noir  aesthetic and narrative concerns, though the hero this time is K, himself a replicant. With his matinee idol good looks, Ryan Gosling gives a strong performance, but perhaps the film’s greatest accomplishment is simply the look of it. As he would show time and again throughout his career, Denis Villeneuve is one of those directors with a keen eye for the film image, and he brings his impeccable craftsmanship to bear in this stunning piece of science fiction. 

One of the most compelling things about neo-noir as a sensibility is its ability to use the trappings of traditional noir to address pressing issues of the present. In Gone Girl,  this takes the form of one man’s efforts to clear himself of suspicion in his wife’s disappearance. Rosamund Pike is particularly compelling as this film’s version of the femme fatale,  the wife who frames her husband and is alluring and destructive in equal measure. David Fincher endows the film with his signature style, and it is the type of psychological thriller designed to keep the viewer guessing and on the edge of their seats from the first frame to the last. 

Guillermo del Toro has repeatedly shown himself to be one of his generation’s most unique directors, and he brings his visual stylings to Nightmare Alley,  based on the novel of the same name. It focuses on Bradley Cooper’s Stan Carlisle; it shows how far he’s willing to go to attain professional success. It has all of the trappings one expects of a glossy, sexy neo-noir, including a femme fatale in the form of Cate Blanchett’s Dr. Lilith Ritter. There are also the usual twists and turns to the narrative and a pulpy exploration of the more sinister side of individual psychology and societal darkness. 

Throughout the early 1990s, Michael Douglas excelled at playing noir-ish heroes who often found themselves caught up in the dangerous world of desire. In Fatal Attraction,  this takes the form of Alex Forrest, a young woman obsessed with Douglas’ Dan Gallagher. Glenn Close delivers one of her most iconic performances as Forrest, a woman as compelling as she is deranged. As a neo-noir, Fatal Attraction indulges the viewer’s desire to see the illicit nature of sex brought to life. It also reassures them that those who dare to transgress the boundaries of acceptable behavior will be violently destroyed.

The Coen Brothers have long been fascinated with the darker, more sinister side of the American psyche, which helps explain why they have repeatedly turned to the neo-noir genre. No Country for Old Men,  based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. It is a skilled blending of Western and noir, and it also features some truly outstanding performances, particularly from Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. In keeping with the traditions of noir, there is something bleakly funny about the film, even as it exposes the more sinister 

The Usual Suspects is the type of neo-noir that has many twists and turns to its story. Indeed, a major part of the film's pleasure is trying to determine whether Roger “Verbal” Kint is telling the truth about the circumstances surrounding his mysterious arrival at a massacre. Like the best of classic noirs, there is a significant use of narration and flashback, which calls into question the veracity of his claims. It’s the type of noir that repeatedly calls its own story into question, and this feature, combined with Bryan Singer’s stylish direction, justifies its perpetually strong reputation. 

As a director, Christopher Nolan has often concerned himself with the nature of narrative and how people's stories affect how they perceive the world. Thus, it makes sense that some of his best films would be neo-noirs, and Memento  stands tall in his filmography. Featuring a superb performance from Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby — a man trying to find out who killed his wife but suffers from amnesia — it’s a compelling film that challenges the viewer to keep track of its myriad twists. The film’s rich realism ensures that its deep sense of existential dread and unease gradually takes over. 

In many ways, L.A. Confidential  is a paradigmatic example of neo-noir, focusing as it does on the perilous world of Hollywood and the way that police corruption and Hollywood can dovetail. There is a tormented sort of cynicism to its appeal that is very much in keeping with neo-noir and traditional noir antecedents. What makes this film particularly striking is the extent to which it captures the look and feel of traditional noir, even while utilizing color cinematography. It certainly helps that Kevin Spacey makes for an excellent noir antihero. 

With his good looks and devilish charm, Ryan Gosling has repeatedly proved to be skilled at acting in the neo-noirs of the 2010s. Drive is one of the most well-regarded examples. Gosling portrays a getaway driver whose life and many others' lives are endangered when a job goes wrong. There’s a blunt toughness to this film that firmly situates it in the neo-noir tradition, but there’s no denying that it has the slick look associated with neo-noirs, even though a tremendous amount of graphic violence sometimes punctuates it.

Keanu Reeves is a movie star who remains beloved by many, thanks in no small part to the ease with which he moves through different genres. In John Wick, he plays a former assassin who goes on a quest for vengeance after a mobster's son kills his dog. It is a slick production, and its noir sensibility is evident in John Wick’s terse persona and the sinister criminal underworld through which he moves (in this film and its sequels). The fact that it possesses a cynical sense of humor heightens the noir pleasures that it offers the contemporary viewer. 

As a graphic novelist, Frank Miller has always had a keen eye for the image, and, along with co-director Robert Rodriguez, he brings much of this to bear in Sin City, which is based on several of his graphic novels. If any film can be said to be pure neo-noir, it would be this one, particularly since it drills deep into the rich and troubling pulp imagination that was critical to the original film noirs. Its cinematography is particularly striking, particularly in its use of color to punctuate its dominant black-and-white palette. 

Even today, Fight Club  remains a key film for understanding the early millennial culture. Based on the novel of the same name, it focuses on the nameless narrator (played by Edward Norton) as he finds himself led into a new life by Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden. Helena Bonham Carter plays a quasi-femme-fatale figure, Marla, with whom the Narrator finds his fate increasingly intertwined. Under director David Fincher’s keen command, it’s a slick and visually stunning film, which pays particular attention to the percolating anger already taking shape in the American male unconscious. Though not particularly successful upon its release, it has become a strong example of neo-noir and one of Fincher’s best films. 

Many neo-noir films, like the classic noirs they reference, focus on men (and they are almost always men) whose lives get turned upside down as a result of chance encounters. This is the motivating event of Blow Out,  which focuses on John Travolta’s Jack Terry, who becomes involved in a planned assassination. As he would so often in his other films, director Brian De Palma showcases his indebtedness to Hitchcock. The film is as visually stunning as it is psychologically and narratively rich. Furthermore, its engagement with the actual act of making movies renders it one of the more thoughtful neo-noirs. 

Though it flourished from the 1970s to the 1990s, neo-noir has also experienced significant popularity in the 2010s. Thanks partly to inspired performances from Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara and typically stylish direction from David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the more remarkable recent neo-noirs. There’s a chilly cynicism to this film, which is in keeping with noir’s fundamental view of the world and with the novel upon which it is based. There is, moreover, a palpable sense of unease, confusion, and angst, all of which combine to make it a compelling entry in the noir neo-noir canon.