Frady - Frantic

Polanski uses a mixture of noir elements to enhance the suspense and tension in his film, Frantic. Among these elements, paranoia, helplessness/alienation, and sexual tension are the most prominent. These three things give this film an overall sense of "franticness."

Dr. Walker, upon discovering his wife missing, can be accurately described as paranoid. The hotel employees, the police, and even the Americans at the embassy all think he's being too paranoid. However, as the saying goes, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you. Dr. Walker's paranoia pays off when it leads him to find out what really happened to his wife.

The main contributing factor to Dr. Walker's sense of helplessness and alienation is the setting. He's been to Paris only once before, about twenty years ago, and he doesn't speak French. He has no support system here, as his only countrymen are largely impotent and don't really take him seriously anyway. His wife was his lifeline, and she's gone, so he is forced to turn on his American inflated sense of self-importance, and huffily demand help from any and all authorities. When this fails, he has to realize that he can really only get things done if he does them himself. Even Michelle isn't much help, as she needs saving on a few different occasions, and ultimately proves to be disloyal and self-absorbed.

Speaking of Michelle, she provides the third important noir aspect of this film: sexual tension. As the film's femme fatale, Michelle constantly tempts Dr. Walker with her lithe sexuality and damsel-in-distress attitude. She plays a young and naive stand-in for Sondra Walker, constantly testing his faithfulness and resolve. It's no wonder that she had to die at the end, as his burgeoning feelings for her would likely complicate marital relations in the future.

The brightly lit hallway retreating into the background shows many doors, suggesting the uncertainty of Dr. Walker's situation. The fact that he's naked and not finished shaving, along with the puzzled/worried look on his face suggests his helplessness and alienation. He's in the foreground, close to the camera, but not centered, in a loose frame. He is free to pursue his wife, but he doesn't know where to begin looking for her.