#13 I Write Sins, Not Tragedies

Miller, overall, made the transition from literature to media very smooth so that the adaption on screen is just as effective as on page; possibly in new and different ways due to the absence of certain restrictions that exist in the novel form. Though the media does meet with new obstacles such as the difference in audience dedication and investment, Miller’s interesting and varied use of colour, mood and camera shots alongside the Film Noir genre helps Sin City: The Hard Goodbye retain the effects that it had on page, on screen.

#12 Sisters, Not Twins

Something Miller does on screen, but cannot on page, is with his subtle use of colour with the twins Goldie and Wendy. Goldie is presented to the reader with her colours, golden hair and red lips that lose their colour when she’s dead. Which means that when we first see Wendy we know before Marv does that it’s not Goldie, but someone else due to the lack of colour. This is something that Miller can only do on screen as this doesn’t work in the novel; the reader finds out when Marv does that Wendy is Goldie’s twin sister.

#11 Orange, the Colour of PTSD

Miller calls attention to Marv’s mental stability with the medication he gets from Lucille, which she states he is ‘worse without’(Miller, 1995: 37), by making the pills a striking orange colour as they are in real life. This colour pops beside the monochrome and calls the audience’s focus, causing them to look deeper into Marv’s psyche and come to the conclusion Miller wants them to. Miller does this by including subtle hints in his appearance –buzz cut, clothing- which hint to ex-army, and his superhuman abilities which all point towards PTSD, particularly in its final stages; culminating with the appearance of the pills.

        => What is PTSD?