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people trust me: voice-over narration and the viewer's perception in "out of the past" (1947) by tracy taylor Jeff Schwager notes in his article "The Past Rewritten" that an early draft of the noir classic Out of the Past by novelist-screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring featured the voice-over narration from the point of view of the deaf-mute Kid. I shudder to think how such a clumsy misstep would have fragmented the viewer's perception of what is arguably the ultimate film noir by relegating this crucial structural choice to such a peripheral character.
We are led to trust his instincts and perceptions, even when they are wrong. Do we see Kathy for what she really is? Not always. We see her first when Jeff does, walking in out of the Mexican sunlight, her face obscured, her white dress caressing all the right curves. As Schwager adroitly notes, we know Jeff is doomed before he does: "every move he makes from this moment until the end of the movie, has its genesis in the power of this instant attraction." Every move he makes, and every word he says. The voice-over as confessional can only draw the viewer closer to the confessor, who becomes vulnerable, needful of our sympathy and understanding. As soon as we slip into the cozy confines of the car with Ann, we become privy to and a part of Jeff's troubled past. By the time we reach Tahoe and the voice-over concludes, we are on Jeff's side in this story, and will remain there through all the deceit, doublecrosses and deaths that follow, watching Jeff as he slowly but surely builds his gallows high. Schwager, Jeff. "The Past Rewritten," Film Comment, V. 27 Jan/Feb. 1991, pp. 21-23. Copyright © 2003 The Write Word, Inc. All rights reserved. |
