ABSTRACT
Not all protagonists in noir films are detectives or nice guys. There are a
group of noir films in which the protagonist kills someone or becomes
involved in crime. These are the noir genre’s anti-heroes. While the anti-hero
is usually defined in standard storytelling as a protagonist who has more
of the traits of a “bad guy,” the noir anti-hero usually isn’t a gangster or a
psychopath (although there have been some). Instead, he’s more often
a character who eventually falls into becoming a murderer or criminal
as a result of his decisions and actions rather than circumstances beyond
his control.
