Crime Cliches

Crime genre

Definition

The genre ‘crime’ focuses mainly on the subject of criminals and their motives.  A crime is anything which goes against the moral code of society. There are a variety of different crime films: some may be seen from a criminal’s point of view and the audience may be willing them to get away with the crime; some, particularly those involving an unpleasant crime, make us very anxious for the criminal to be caught; and in the final group we are not sure who the criminal is and enjoy working out the puzzle. Most crime genres follow a similar structure in that a crime takes place and there is an investigation, pursuit, evidence and possible conviction.

Tough guys

In crime films there is usually at least one gang, who are the tough scary villains. They are the ones who operate outside the law and often the audience don’t indentify with them.  Usually the gang is a minority group who is involved in crime. Sometimes there is the added thrill of violence to the plot.

The gang leaders in crime films are nearly always feared by everyone. This is a cliché which adds something that the audience can be scared of and who they don’t want to do well.

The good guy amongst the villains

The good guy amongst the villains is a person the audience has sympathy with. It causes the audience to anxiously follow the activities of the criminals in the hope that all will be well for the good guy. It also means that the audience can relate to one of the villains. The audience then can have an interest in both the law abiding and criminal aspects of the film and it is hoped that ‘the good guy’ will change his allegiance in the end.

Corrupt cop

The corrupt cop in crime films is a cliché as the policeman is often being turned or bribed by one of the gang members to help them. This is the opposite scenario to the good guy amongst the villains. However because the audience tends to relate more to the law abiding side it does not have the same effect of making them take an interest in everybody. Quite often one of the policemen doesn’t play by the rules or is undercover. This may make the audience more anxious about the people they identify with and more worried that they are going to be betrayed. This heightens the tension in the film.

Gang rivalry

Quite often in crime films there is one group who is against the other group: this causes gang rivalry. There is quite often a fight or disagreement between these two gangs which means the police become involved. This is exciting for the audience as the conflict between these two gangs is thrilling and exciting.

Good cop/ Bad cop interrogation

The good cop, bad cop interrogation scene became very popular as soon as the genre crime began. This highlights the different personalities of the two policemen and shows the different views the audience may feel. It also demonstrates how the character who is being interrogated reacts and how he is putting up a front about his situation.

Code of honour (not explicit)

In crime films there is always an amorphous code of behaviour amongst the criminals or their family members which must not be broken. Although the code is vaguely mentioned throughout the film it cannot be dishonoured. This is what usually starts the film’s plot line. This sometimes intrigues the audience and makes them think about what it could be. The neighbourhood is often very similar in crime films, set in large, crowded cities, to give the element of secrets of the criminals which means that the society that the criminals live in is very similar. This could be the reason for the code of honour.

Violence

Violence is a prominent factor in crime films as the gangs are usually aggressive and forceful towards some of the other main characters in the film. The body in the car boot is a cliché as it is very common in the crime genre. This is because the gangs are brutal and may feel that it is necessary to kill someone. This gives excitement to the plot and means the audience feels interested.

The Film: The Departed

‘The Departed’ begins in the close Irish neighbourhood of South Boston. This is a kind of cliché although the neighbourhood chosen is usually Italian. Perhaps this film has changed it to make it less of a cliché. This is effective as it is a different society from most other crime films. However it still uses the ‘minority group’ cliché.

The ‘tough gang’ is made up of Irish mobsters lead by Frank Costello. Sullivan, who is part of Costello’s gang, is trained to become a mole inside Massachusetts State Police. This is a cliché as Sullivan is undercover in the police force which focuses on organized crime. Costigan, who is graduating from the police academy, is asked by Queenan and Dignam, two high ranking police officers, if he will become an undercover agent as his family was linked to organized crime. This then leads to Costigan having to drop out of the academy to increase his credibility. This means that the plot is more complicated and involved as they have two men who are working undercover. These two clichés put together is unusual as it is rare for a film to have two people undercover from different sides. This technique is probably not used very often as, although an interesting scenario, it is also somewhat confusing for the audience.   

In ‘The Departed’ Costigan is asked if he is an undercover cop. He says he is not. This is a cliché as this question is often asked in crime films as they frequently have an undercover cop. This may be entertaining for the audience as it is dramatic irony in that they know who he really is and that he is lying.

The meeting at the beginning of the film between Queenan, Dignam and Costigan is the ‘good cop/ bad cop’ cliché as Dignam is quite brutal and outspoken towards Costigan whereas Queenan doesn’t speak very much, but when he does he gets straight to the point. This is effective as their two different characters work well together and it causes the audience to really like the character of Queenan and makes the scene when he dies all the more emotional.

The scene when Costigan chases Sullivan through Chinatown is a cliché as a chase occurs very often in crime films. This is a very exciting scene in the film as it is dramatic and fast paced.

Violence is a prominent theme of the film as it takes place throughout. This is mainly portrayed with gun shots and many people are killed: for example Costello and his gang become involved in a gun fight with the police, concluding with most of the mobsters being killed.