Like - The Debut Crime Film
Two nights ago, I finally got around to watching Jonathan Glazer’s debut feature Sexy Beast. It was a good time. It was stylish, it was crass, it was tense, it was cool, it was exciting, and it was inventive. There were some points about the movie I didn’t love, (mostly the weird Donnie Darko/Raising Arizona apocalyptic bunny rabbit thing1) but it mostly got me thinking about the debut crime film as its own distinct genre. Lots of major directors have gotten their start with crime films. Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow, Nicolas Winding Refn, the Coen Brothers, among many others.2 That got me thinking, why the crime film? But the answer was right in front of my face. Crime is taboo, so it begs to be watched. Crime takes place in the underworld, which allows for real world building. Crime is a rich and fascinating subject. Criminals follow codes but they’re constantly bending and/or breaking under the pressure of tension. Criminals are cool and sexy, even if they’re also amoral and violent. It’s an entrancing mix that invites directors to test their abilities—particularly when you know the genre well and want to work with seasoned actors. So, if you don’t have the money for something epic and don’t want to plunge into the dark depths of horror, crime films let directors film something raw and exciting with a high dose of panache on a relatively low budget. It’s a pretty good way to start your career if you can make it work…
Sexy Beast came out first but you know what I’m saying…
This is by no an exhaustive list…
i think about this a lot too!