Gilda (1946) has been defined as a film noir due to disturbing
narrative themes of ambiguity and violent death, the portrayal of isolated feel
of modern cities, the use of conflicted anti-heroes and of beautiful and
dangerous female character. Film noir is
seen as the opposition between the light and shadow, between power and
seduction and it is distinct in the unsettled sense of claustrophobia and
distortion in the story. It seems to reject society's dominant ideology and the
importance of shared values, experimenting with alternative formulas against American
culture's view of the family. In addition, femmes fatales, one of the most
significant aspects of film noir, as described by Swanson (1993) “mark a
trajectory in film theory which looks beyond dichotomies that offer a given
category of ‘women’ a unitary place in relation to representation (…).”
The main character in the film is constructed as the
ultimate femme fatale, idea reinforced by the slogan on the film’s poster "There NEVER was a woman like Gilda.” The character will be analysed in this
essay through the dynamic of interaction between her and the male protagonists
with regard to the emotions that are resulted, in order to establish the role
of the femme fatale in film noir.
Although viewers might be blinded by her beauty, her character,
which is constructed in a complex way, hides various problems in the society
and between the relationship of women and men, between the desire of beauty and
power. However, feminists have had controversial reactions in accessing the validity
of Gilda’s role in portraying women’s personality and their aspirations. For example, Doane
(1991, p.2) says that “it would be a mistake to see her as some kind of heroine
of modernity.”
First of all, being the source of conflict and the
reason of different emerging feelings, the story of the film is build around
Gilda. Hayward (2005) suggests that main characteristic of the fame fatale,
apart from her seductiveness, may be her uncontrollability.
Her uncontrollability, in relation to the patriarchal
myth, explains the interpretation of the femme fatale as embodying male fears of
female sexuality. The femme fatale is an
attack to the culture we live in, that has been promoting the idea that men
have to be in power. Patriarchal
ideologies are therefore threatened by the fatale’s power of cheating the
system, daring to combine “feminine beauty and intelligence with sexual
assertiveness and (so-called) masculine agency.” (Walker, 2007) However, the
inflated uncontrollable female sexuality, which Gilda uses to manipulate the
men she is interacting with in the movie, interpreted as female duplicity, both
triggers, from the male protagonists, feeling of jealousy and obsession in
assessing the fatale’s honesty. Walker (2007)
talks about the fact that “Truth and knowledge are concealed and replaced by
the enigma of the femme as multiplication of appearances, a multitude of faces,
each one of the apparently false, each progressively shattered.” In the case of
Gilda, she is presented as having a past that she is covering with lies, a
different personality that she is denying.
(First scene Gilda appears in the movie)
In addition, numerous close-up frames of Gilda’s face
might be seen as an attempt to see behind the image she is portraying, trying
to get inside her mind, where the truth may be found. For example, in the first
scene Gilda appears, although we are not familiar with the character yet, the
use of the mirror emphasizes her desirability and confidence, while the facial
expression of Johnny reveals Gilda’s disguise. This suggests that from the
beginning of the movie, both the spectator and Ballin are encouraged to
question the femme fatale’s honesty, which will be accentuated during the
action, a fundamental, intended issue in film noir.
Furthermore, fatale’s varieties of personality as
well as her narcissism are a major source of tension arising from the male
protagonists’ doubt regarding her emotional and sexual loyalties. Doane (1991, p.2) states that “The power
accorded to the femme fatale is a function of fears linked to the notions of
uncontrollable drives, the fading of subjectivity, and the loss of the
conscious agency- all themes of the emergent theories of psychoanalysis.” The film presents several scenes in which
Ballin and Johnny are questioning the loyalty of Gilda, moments that result in images of obsessive
need and search of faithfulness. The film conceals whether these emotions are
driven by his love for Gilda or because of his manhood.
Moreover, the relationship between Ballin and Gilda
generate other feelings like desire and greed, as well as it shows the
correlation between desirability and unpredictability. Both of them have power,
for Gilda is the sexual power that can attract any man, while for Ballin is the
financial power that can buy any object of desire. For example, in one of the
scenes, Ballin tells Gilda “You’re a child, Gilda, a beautiful greedy child.
And it amuses me to feed you beautiful things because you eat with so good an
appetite.” Their relationship raises the question of who has the power over
whom.
Nevertheless, Johnny is a major
factor in considering that. The idea of power is closely linked to concept of owning
and, Martin (1998, p.212) mentions that “Her attraction for them becomes ‘fatale’,
not because of anything she does, but because they make the mistake of thinking
they can own her…” Moreover, the interaction between the characters shows that
danger- the danger of loosing Gilda or the danger of having her real identity discovered-
is an exciting feeling, which shakes the mundane boredom. In addition, this
feeling is expressed metaphorically thru the location of the event, a casino,
and underlined by different representative moments in the film.
Another aspect that constructs the fatale’s personality
is her ambition, the desire of love overlapping with the much stronger
attraction to money. This idea implies that the femme fatale may be judged as
lacking in moral scruples; she wants everything and not willing to give up on
any of those aspects, nonetheless loosing her freedom of playing with her
sexuality. The film noir frames the femme fatale both as a monster and as the
most desirable woman.
Quart and Auster (2011) suggest that in film noir, "the
narrative, no matter how much the camera focused on the predatory sexuality or
psychological strength of the female, male dominance was always restored by the
film's climax.” Gilda, by the end of the film, is punished for male-female-male
triangulation that she instigated and her continuous display of availability, by
being trapped in an unbearable relationship, a prison. Furthermore, Doane (1991, p.2) mentions
that this is a common characteristic in the progree of the femme fatale, “the
femme fatale is studied as evil and is frequently punished or killed.”
(Famous scene when Gilda performs an allusion to a striptease dance)
The renowned
moment in which she performs an allusion to a striptease number has been interpreted
as an attempt in trying to escape this situation. The last part of the movie
shows the character in a very different light. However, feelings of judging her
not feelings of compassion are being encouraged by the images presented.
To conclude, Gilda is a representative of the femme
fatale, possessing the qualities to create a “psychological obsession” (Duncan,
2000) over the male protagonists she interacts with in the film. Not only that
the character herself is a spectacle, but her personality and the way she acts,
move the interpretation to the generation of a spectacle of emotions. All in
all, the most important aspect of the femme fatale is this ability in awakening
deep feelings of jealousy, obsession, ambiguity, allure, uncontrollability,
manipulation, desire, greed, and others. To this moment, femme fatale is the
most complex female character in film.
Reference list
Doane, M. A.. (1991). Femmes Fatales-Feminism, Film Theory, Psychoanalysis. London:
Routledge.
Duncan, P. (2000) Film Noir: Films of trust and betrayal. Pocket Essentials
Hayward, S. (2005) Closing Remarks. Cherchez la femme: the Cinematic Femme
Fatale, Her History and Transmissions. University of Exeter.
Martin, A.. (1998). “Gilda didn’t do any of those
things you’ve been losing sleep over!”: The Central Women of the 40s Film
Noirs. Women in Film Noir. London:
BFI Pub., 202-228.
Swanson. (1993). Reviews. Screen. 34(2).
Quart, L. and Auster, A.. (2011). American film and society
since 1945. Santa Barbara:Praeger.
Walker, D.. (2007). Re-reading the Femme Fatale in Film Noir: an evolutionary perspective. Journal of Moving Image Studies, 4, pp 25.
