Top five places to bleed out in a noir film (any noir film or you can select individual sets)
Narrative pop and mileage may vary but to me it goes:
5. Overlooking the city waterfront. Classic, monolithic in its delivery but ultimately too steady and remote for my tastes.
4. The street, preferably while it’s deserted and you have plenty of alcoves to stumble in and out of. OR, deserted and SPARSE like Berlin in M (1931). Can’t go wrong with bleeding out in the street.
3. On a woman’s asymmetrical mid-century couch in her chintzy apartment. Bonus points if she’s the reason you’re bleeding out but not required. Great place for a hero to swear something after your death.
2. In your office after monologuing out our entire narrative OR making a final futile decision to try and make things right (see Double Indemnity (1944) and/or Ace in the Hole (1951))
1. On the pier and/or somewhere with direct access the water. If I see you flop and give up your last breath as you hit the boards and the hand that’s held your guts in reaches down and joins the black of your blood with the black of the city water supply. Well. I’m gonna stand there thinking ‘now THAT’S what peak performance looks like’
