It isn’t that the participants are bad people—they have no choice economically. What Adams captures brilliantly is the despair of those who have played by the rules only to be dealt an empty hand. The sudden collapse of all safety nets is perfectly unfurled here. Then, in the great noir tradition, Adams makes the one escape from this realm of doom a beautiful doorway to transgression in the form of a femme fatale. These are the women who are symbols of freedom from inhibition and all law, but in their company, there is always the chance of fatal overdose. They are exciting but dangerous, with no one knowing when they will need to go before they perish. This is a classic cinematic narcotic to numb against the darkness many Americans feel with the reality of impossible rents. This kind of movie needs to be made now, and Adams has made it.
No, we do not have the usual visual stylization associated with the noir genre. Some may, on a surface glance, mistake it for a comedy. The lighting is ordinary, and everything is well shot in an entirely unremarkable way. Even those sonic shades of a gloomy soundtrack are missing, with a fairly regular score employed most of the way. It is one of those functional non-styles that doesn’t draw attention to itself.
“Von Preysing makes Olivia’s descent into the underworld both realistic and relatable.”
That is until we get to the absolutely incredible finale, which is highly stylized visually with amazing music. The climax is so awesome you will never forget it. It is one of those iconic movie moments that tattoo the images forever into our memory. And that script is noir as ever, worth the shadows of a thousand Venetian blinds. It is the perfect ammunition for the high-powered performances by the two female leads.
Von Preysing is the perfect doomed protagonist. She is a fish out of water that will have the audience gasping for breath with her. Von Preysing makes Olivia’s descent into the underworld both realistic and relatable. Sweeney’s outstanding performance is now the 21st-century template for the femme fatale archetype. There is no one else I can remember who breathes so much life into a character so dark. Sweeney makes evil as nebulous as the times, as she is so relatable.
It is also refreshing that Adams lets a real bond form between the two without making it a romance. Too often, female characters are expected to start dating somebody during the movie, and these two have enough on their plate. Like all of us, they suddenly found themselves living in a neo-noir movie. American Meltdown walks right up to the lip of doom and covers it with dark lipstick.
"…a classic cinematic narcotic to numb against the darkness many Americans feel..."
