the dingy rooms of film noir

'Light enters the dingy rooms of film noir in such odd shapes'jagged trapezoids, obtuse triangles, vertical slits'that one suspects the windows were cut out with a pen knife. No character can speak authoritatively from a space which is being continually cut into ribbons of light. . . .

The actors and setting are often given equal lighting emphasis. An actor is often hidden in the realistic tableau of the city at night, and, more obviously, his face is often blacked out by shadow as he speaks. . . . [I]n film noir, the central character is likely to be standing in the shadow.'

'Paul Schrader, Notes on Film Noir, 1972. From American Movie Critics: An Anthology From the Silents Until Now, edited by Phillip Lopate, 2006.