We stumble out of the past into Noirvember in search of the very best, most stylish, noir, and neo-noir. French critic Nino Frank wrapped up the hallmarks of the genre with the term ‘film noir’ back in 1946. Movies, generally about a crime, but not really about the crime, that are exceptional for their style, their reflection of the times (the Depression, war, post-war existentialism, present-day fatalism), their spotlight on corruption (of the press, the police, public office, take your pick), and the injustices of the powerful against the powerless. Also: cynical protagonists running from their pasts (cue flashbacks), femmes and hommes-fatale, diabolical mobsters, sadistic violence, innuendo-laden dialogue, shadowy cinematography. Once more into Nightmare Alley, angel heart.