Reimagining the "Femme Fatale" Trope Through a Cinematic Subtext: Fatale

Abstract

Integrating subtext into action screenwriting, specifically within the “femme fatale” trope, creates a more compelling and entertaining film than typical action movies. Typical action movies are films like The Avengers, The Fast and the Furious, and Mission Impossible franchises. Although the average action film’s bold fight scenes and over-the-top characters distract the masses, displaying complex characters, motivations, and dialogue can add significant depth to a movie. Action films that achieve this goal and diverge from the norm are often some of my favorites; films such as Kill Bill, The Matrix, and The Dark Knight have an added layer of depth beyond their action. Looking past the flashy, candy-coated revenge story repeated countless times, I express my characters’ psychological range, interpretation of character tropes, and the destructive nature of the revenge cycle through my feature-length screenplay, Fatale.