Corey Redekop is doing a nifty series of quick bite interviews with authors featured in The Exile Book of New Canadian Noir. In mine, I wax poetic — but ever so briefly — about Bogart and Bacall. Because my first taste of noir was watching The Big Sleep on videodisk (remember those?) while babysitting.
What does “noir” mean to you?
More Bogart and Bacall than Kaiser Soze. Noir should be sexy, understated, and tense.
My story Good for Grapes is heavily influenced by the his-and-her cut-and-thrust scenes that make The Big Sleep so deliciously re-watchable.
Which is not to say it’s a romantic story — not at all, though I do believe it’s mighty sexy in its trappings. Wineries and wine cellars are extremely sexy places.
The romance in noir is all in the tension and the tone. In The Big Sleep, Bogart and Bacall’s characters are highly empowered, confident in their point of view, and in full control of their worlds. When two people like that come together, sparks fly.