[Diane Arnson Svarlien]

I like this sonnet a lot, and I voted for it as one of my top three. (Let me here again apologize publicly for not knowing the etiquette, and voting for my own, too). Congratulations to the author.

I agree that "upped" doesn't work; in my view "upset" would be metrically legit in its place. I like the humor of applecart/tart, and I think the almost childlike "cause" at the end strikes just the right note.

Addition after seeing Janice Soderling's post: the title Film Noir works for me. I wouldn't go changing it!