Romantic thriller

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A romantic thriller is a narrative that combines elements of both the romance and thriller genres. The goal of romantic thrillers is to entertain audiences by evoking discomfort through moments of suspense, along with heightened feelings of anxiety and fear. While the concept of a thriller is more widely recognized, it often transcends the boundaries of a single genre. Thrillers can range from comedy and melodrama to adventure and romance, with all thrillers inherently blending different genres. The suspense that defines thrillers tends to pair more effectively with certain genres, such as crime, sci-fi, and romance, which allow for greater suspense than genres like screwball comedies or musicals. [1] [2]

Contents

A romantic thriller merges the romance and thriller genres, setting it apart from established cinema movements such as Gothic horror or Golden Age detective films. The genre operates on two levels: 1) a specific theme is established, and 2) general relationships, patterns, and structural elements are woven into this theme. This framework allows for a wide variety of visual styles and story structures within the romantic thriller genre. [3]

History

In Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism (1957), he suggested four archetypal categories in literature: comedy, romance, tragedy, and irony or satire. In a romance, the protagonist is portrayed as only slightly superior to others, capable of remarkable actions in a world where the "ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended." [4]

A key element in a romantic plot is adventure, often involving a quest where the hero faces challenges or monsters. There is typically a sense of two worlds—the mundane reality and the mysterious unknown. The concept of a maze is frequently used in romantic thrillers, symbolizing a journey filled with blind spots, false turns, and hidden elements, making the path to the solution difficult to navigate.

In the 1935 release of The Thirty-Nine Steps , protagonist Richard Hannay leaves a theatre with a mysterious and attractive woman, and they embark on a romantic adventure involving spies, double agents, and espionage. Author John Buchan pioneered the spy thriller genre, blending romance and adventure within the emerging context of political conflict. In Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation, the possibility of romance between the mysterious woman and the decent gentleman was a minor consideration compared to the larger plot of intrigue. [5]

Based on Raymond Chandler’s first Detective Marlowe novel, The Big Sleep (1946), starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Martha Vickers), the film exemplifies two key elements of the romantic thriller: adventure and dual worlds. The protagonists are brought together in an effort to save Bacall’s younger sister, played by Vickers. The main plot, centered on a sleuthing adventure, sees the characters navigating both together and separately. [6] In a common theme of the genre, the characters come from different social classes, typically preventing them from mixing. Their romance appears hopeless, but as the adventure unfolds, their relationship navigates its own labyrinth of truth and deception, ultimately overcoming mistrust. The story revolves around a private detective, hired by a wealthy family, investigating a complex case involving murder and blackmail, all while possibly falling in love. Chandler’s Marlowe is often described as a "knight in dark armor rescuing a lady." [7]

Film adaptations of Chandler's novels varied, with different directors and producers highlighting certain traits of the character, much like the varied interpretations of James Bond. Where Marlowe engaged in quick, bantering exchanges filled with sexual tension, Bond relies on a more physical style of seduction.

The 2020s have seen a resurgence of romantic thrillers, especially through Netflix originals like Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022), starring Emma Corrin, and Dark Desire (2020), starring Maite Perroni. Other popular Netflix titles include Obsession, 365 Days, Elite, and You. Additionally, non-Netflix romantic thrillers such as Tooth Pari: When Love Bites (2023) and Love Lies Bleeding (2024) continue to explore this genre.

Films

Casablanca (1941) Principal Cast in Casablanca Trailer.jpg
Casablanca (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941) SamKissBrigMaltFalc1941Trailer.jpg
The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Opinions vary on what films are in this category; this is only a sampling. The first list is Hollywood movies, while the second is broader and includes international films.

Broader list of examples:

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Romantic comedy is a subgenre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. In a typical romantic comedy, the two lovers tend to be young, likeable, and seemingly meant for each other, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance until, surmounting all obstacles, they are finally united. A fairy-tale-style happy ending is a typical feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Chandler</span> American novelist and screenwriter (1888–1959)

Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime. All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once. In the year before his death, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Marlowe</span> Fictional character

Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in Black Mask magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Continental Op and Sam Spade first appeared. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep, published in 1939. Chandler's early short stories, published in pulp magazines such as Black Mask and Dime Detective, featured similar characters with names like "Carmady" and "John Dalmas", starting in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thriller (genre)</span> Genre of literature, film, and television

Thriller is a genre of fiction with numerous, often overlapping, subgenres, including crime, horror, and detective fiction. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving their audiences heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. This genre is well suited to film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Bacall</span> American actress (1924–2014)

Betty Joan Perske, professionally known as Lauren Bacall, was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute. She received an Academy Honorary Award in 2009 in recognition of her contribution to the Golden Age of motion pictures. She was known for her alluring, sultry presence and her distinctive, husky voice. Bacall was one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Spade</span> Fictional private detective

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romance film</span> Film genre

Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey through dating, courtship or marriage is featured. These films make the search for romantic love the main plot focus. Occasionally, romance lovers face obstacles such as finances, physical illness, various forms of discrimination, psychological restraints or family resistance. As in all quite strong, deep and close romantic relationships, the tensions of day-to-day life, temptations, and differences in compatibility enter into the plots of romantic films.

<i>In a Lonely Place</i> 1950 film by Nicholas Ray

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<i>The Big Sleep</i> (1946 film) 1946 US film noir by Howard Hawks

The Big Sleep is a 1946 American film noir directed by Howard Hawks. William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman co-wrote the screenplay, which adapts Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as private detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge in a story that begins with blackmail and leads to multiple murders.

<i>Dark Passage</i> (film) 1947 US mystery thriller film by Delmer Daves

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<i>Dead Reckoning</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by John Cromwell

Dead Reckoning is a 1947 American film noir directed by John Cromwell and starring Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, and William Prince. It was written by Steve Fisher and Oliver H.P. Garrett, based on a story by Gerald Drayson Adams and Sidney Biddell, adapted by Allen Rivkin. Its plot follows a war hero, Warren Murdock (Bogart) who begins investigating the death of his friend and fellow soldier, Johnny Drake (Prince). The investigation leads Murdock to his friend's mistress, a mysterious woman whose husband Drake was accused of murdering.

To Have and Have Not is a 1944 American romantic war adventure film directed by Howard Hawks, loosely based on Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan and Lauren Bacall; it also features Dolores Moran, Hoagy Carmichael, Sheldon Leonard, Dan Seymour, and Marcel Dalio. The plot, centered on the romance between a freelancing fisherman in Martinique and a beautiful American drifter, is complicated by the growing French resistance in Vichy France.

<i>Tony Rome</i> 1967 film by Gordon Douglas

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<i>Marlowe</i> (1969 film) 1969 film by Paul Bogart

Marlowe is a 1969 American neo-noir film starring James Garner as Raymond Chandler's private detective Philip Marlowe. Directed by Paul Bogart, the film was written by Stirling Silliphant based on Chandler's 1949 novel The Little Sister.

<i>Bacall to Arms</i> 1946 film by Bob Clampett

Bacall to Arms is a 1946 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series short planned by Bob Clampett and finished by Arthur Davis, in his second-to-last cartoon at Warner Bros. The short was released on August 3, 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thriller film</span> Film genre evoking excitement and suspense

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<i>Giri/Haji</i> British television series

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References

  1. "Historians' themes and genres". Writing History 7-11. Routledge. pp. 19–29. 2014-06-05. doi:10.4324/9781315767796-10. ISBN   978-1-315-76779-6 . Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  2. Altman, Rick (1995). A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre' in Film Gere Reader . Austin University of Texas Press. pp.  26–40. ISBN   0851707173.
  3. Ruben, Martin (1999). Thrillers: Genres in American Cinema. Cambridge University Press. p. 260, 261. ISBN   0-521-58839-1.
  4. Frye, Notrthrop (1971). Anatomy of Criticism; Four Essays . Princeton University Press. p.  139, 40. ISBN   9780802092724.
  5. Ruben, Martin (1999). Thrillers: Genres in American Cinema. Cambridge University Press. p. 228, 229. ISBN   0-521-58839-1.
  6. Maltin, Leonard (2005). Classic Movie Guide. Penguin Books. p. 47. ISBN   0-452-28620-4.
  7. Ruben, Martin (1999). Thrillers: Genres in American Cinema. Cambridge University Press. p. 89. ISBN   0-521-58839-1.