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DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling

How does Film Noir show us terrible people doing terrible things without endorsing it?

30 JAN 2026

Show Notes

Mel and Chas continue to explore what Noir (the genre) can teach writers of all other genres. In particular:

  • How to keep the audience on side of characters doing reprehensible things;
  • How to control your audience understanding of those reprehensible actions; and
  • Distinguishing between characters undergoing transformative arcs against discovering their true natures

In finding the common craft tools of Noir over 100 years, this Part 2 looks at two modern noirs – DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995) and WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2024) – after Part 1 looked at the classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LONG GOODBYE.

Despite Chas claiming to have edited this episode it was, in fact, Chris Walker who saved the day and got this done. Thanks Chris.

"This film deliberately does not tell you who murders her. There’s two, potentially three different suspects."

— Chas Fisher  |  DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

Resources

Transcript

Read the transcript for this episode.

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 – Using noir as a lens
  • 00:01:56 – DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS
  • 00:07:06 – › Period setting, race, and noir's embedded worldview
  • 00:10:30 – › Voiceover as access to morally compromised decisions
  • 00:22:02 – › How the film justifies rooting for Easy's transgressions
  • 00:29:09 – › Character worldview versus film worldview in noir
  • 00:31:33 – WOMAN OF THE HOUR
  • 00:37:15 – › Why WOMAN OF THE HOUR qualifies as noir
  • 00:43:25 – › The system as collective villain enabling the killer
  • 00:53:12 – › Depiction without endorsement, empathy without sympathy
  • 01:04:30 – Key Learnings
  • 01:08:50 – Thank you Patreons!

Films

Episodes in the Noir series

KEY IDEAS

Stupid Choices For Understandable Reasons

"and all these all every single one of these films has someone doing something that we know is incredibly stupid but for understandable reasons and they all contextualize it different ways"

— Mel Killingsworth (00:12:10) · Audience Sympathy · Character Motivation

Control Over Questions Compels Action

"I think these films have got really strong control over the questions and that's how they get us to follow, compelling us to follow characters who are doing terrible things. And sometimes it's removing the mystery. We know who did it in Woman of the Hour."

— Chas Fisher (01:06:08) · Dramatic Questions · Character Agency

Noir's Sympathy For Victims

"Noir is sympathetic to the victims."

— Mel Killingsworth (01:02:05) · Moral Ambiguity · Representation and Endorsement

System Hostility Shapes Survival Choices

"the system is it doesn't just not serve me it is out to get me and therefore all i could do is survive and and that's what his decisions are based on"

— Mel Killingsworth (00:27:43) · Worldview

Character Refuses External Pressure

"He refuses the call."

— Chas Fisher (00:22:36) · Character Arcs

Voiceover As Motivation Gateway

"And like one of the most important bits of voiceover where like voiceover, we've got whole episodes on voiceover. Go and look at that. But it gives you that access to a character's motivation such that you will jump over hurdles, what might otherwise be narrative hurdles."

— Chas Fisher (00:10:50) · Voiceover · Character Motivation

Assholes Who Are Completely Relatable

"I really enjoyed tying the, like, just the fact that you're able to draw these sorts of connections between, you know, like an insurance salesman and a post-war, you know, a GI, like all of those sorts of things are really fascinating. And I think writing characters that are assholes, but are completely relatable"

— Mel Killingsworth (01:04:35) · Antiheroes · Audience Sympathy

Depicting Brutality: Classical vs. Neo-Noir

"A lot of classical noir is not direct about its depiction of brutality. And a lot of neo-noir is. And I think this film walks a really fascinating line where you know exactly how brutal and horrible it is."

— Mel Killingsworth (00:34:38) · Genre Conventions · Representation and Endorsement

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