The 10 Greatest Neo-Noirs of the 21st Century, Ranked

Article excerpt

Film noir emerged from post-World War II constraints, tight budgets and strict censorship under the Hays Code forced Hollywood to get resourceful. Moody lighting and double-entendre became the genre's calling cards, creating something simultaneously stylish and dark. The article ranks the ten greatest neo-noir films of the 21st century, tracing how this elegant, restrained storytelling tradition has evolved and persisted in contemporary cinema.