Film Noir used to be a morally gray private eye investigating an unusual murder, wrestling with the morality of it all but ultimately doing the right thing in the end. By the ‘70s it turned into a genre where the endings were instead nihilistic and grim. This movie is the epitome of that turning point. The bleak plot and tone are balanced out by the superb acting and dialogue. It’s the kind of movie that students watch to understand historical context, but nobody watches just for fun.

Closest comparison: It’s in between The Maltese Falcon and L.A. Confidential, both tonally and temporally.

Setting: Film Noir
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Thriller