The visual quality of this film is indeed darker than other films that we have watched in the class. Unlike most of the classical hollywood films which tend to use high-key lighting that creates an evenly and softly lit environment, Out of the Past uses a lot of low-key lighting like the German Expressionism films in the 10s and 20s. This lighting creates streak contrast of white and black, without much transitional greys in between. It is visually dramatic. A lot of times, the black areas in the film almost become graphic blocks that diminish information of the environment or the characters and also reduce a clear feeling of how deep is the space. That lack of information, sometimes including the facial expressions of characters, and of spacial orientation put the audience in an unsettling state and elicit heightened emotions.
Though it is a black and white film that could not show the exact colors of costumes, there are still deliberate decisions made about what the characters wear. Jeff, Joe, and the male characters usually wear dark colors that absorb light. This choice not only corresponds to their identity but also helps to create the graphic quality of large blocks of black. More interesting decisions are made regarding Kathie’s costumes. She starts from wearing white, which forms a distinct light block in the film, to wear very dark dresses in the end. This goes along with the narrative of the story. The first time that Jeff met Kathie, he talked in the voiceover that he saw her walked in under the “sun light.” In the next encounter, Kathie walked in “moon light.” In the night that Fisher was killed, Kathie was lit by the head light. In the end, when she was dead, the polices came near and lit her face with a flash light. Yet, her body, with the dark outfit, completely merges with the darkness. The play of light and darkness reinforces the gradual reveal of Kathie’s cruel character.
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