By the time the 1950s began, American moviegoers were more than a touch familiar with the most well-worn routines of the genre that would be later known as film noir. So In a Lonely Place, a Nicholas Ray directorial effort, decided to play on this familiarity in a clever manner. This brilliant feature lulls the viewer into thinking they know every step of its story by, at first, playing itself as a straightforward film noir, right down to casting film noir legend Humphery Bogart in the lead role. But around the midpoint in the story, In a Lonely Place pulls the rug out of from under the viewer and subverts expectations over who and what this movie is really about. A traditional film noir, this is not, and In a Lonely Place is all the better for that!
