Once again, I have to agree with Kevin about the very
precious and self-conscious Vanity Fair "tribute" to noir.
When empty, soulless posing passes for seemingly authentic
despair and ennui it's time to check out another subgenre,
hopefully one without cats or New York chic. But I disagree
on one point: Kevin's comment that noir wasn't a matter of
hats. Not solely, of course. But as the pan and scan movie
points out, there's a certain authenticity that the snap-brim
can convey on the right head. Alec Baldwin looks like he
might actually be in a noir scene. (I don't think he was so
bad as Dave Robicheaux, by the way.) But Affleck and Norton
seem to have borrowed their dads' toppers and forgot to stuff
them with rolled up cardboard.
To end this hat rant, let me call your attention to the movie
made from the television series, The Avengers. With a budget
of about a hundred million, they apparently didn't think it
important to find a lead who looked comfortable wearing a
derby. Small point really.
Dick Lochte
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