Double Indemnity

Film noir literally means “black film.” As you are watching the film, keep track of all the elements in the picture that seem dark or depressing. Think about the characters, the setting, and the storyline.

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The film Double Indemnity is the perfect example of film noir.  After watching it in my film class, I have learned many common aspects included in film noir.  Most of them are seen in the storyline of Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson.  The term began with French film critics and described the darkness expressed in many films after the war to represent the anxiety and pessimism in society.  Everything about the films seemed dark, including the characters, the setting, and the story.  

First, the characters are seen as very dark and corruptive.  The film focuses on Walter and Phyllis, who both exemplify the dark characteristics of men and women in film noir.  Walter does not appear to be such a bad guy at the beginning of the movie.  He rather appears confident in his actions and with his relationship with Phyllis.  He comes off as a man who has seen it all, which is common in film noir in the male characters.  However, he grows darker as the film progresses due to Phyllis' influence.  He is shown as being weak as he is easily put into danger with Phyllis by his side.  He gets caught up in her plan to murder her husband, making him more evil as he kills a man he barely even knows just because of a woman.  Phyllis is also a very dark character, because she is the one who set all of the events into motion in the first place.  In film noir, there is usually a fatal female who comes across as powerful, sexual, smart, and threatening.  Throughout the story, she is able to convince Walter to help her kill her husband so she can receive the money.  She does it in a very sneaky way, and tells Walter how horrible her husband really is.  Then the audience learns that Phyllis might have been behind another woman's death too.  It all comes together at the end when she is holding the gun at Walter, and it is revealed she never really loved him at all.  This makes her appear very evil for how the murder was all a scheme concocted by Phyllis from the very beginning.  She is amoral and manipulative, only caring about herself.

The setting was also very dark, with helped emphasize the depressing themes seen in the film.  With the help of cinematic techniques, the film appeared dark and shadowy in almost every scene.  The dark themes of murder and corruption were displayed with the use of dark lighting and deep shadows, which are common in film noir.  The settings in Double Indemnity included darkly lit, small rooms, and gloomy, shadowy streets at night.  One interesting insight on the movie was that the film was shot on location.  It was shot in real cities in Los Angeles to better reflect on reality at the time.  Concepts like venetian blinds, low key lighting, and deep shadows are used to alter space psychologically and display dramatic isolation.  All of these aspects add to the suspense and darkness portrayed in Double Indemnity.  

Finally, the storyline was overall dark and depressing.  The film focuses on murder and crime, and deal with corruption, evil, guilt, manipulation, etc.  Due to these dark themes, the film had to deal with censorship.  The government did not like seeing criminals simply walking around freely, which is exactly what Walter and Phyllis were doing after committing murder.  Because of censorship, film noir films tended to be more psychological in that they forced the audience to think.  In Double Indemnity, conversations about adultery and murder were very discrete.  One example is when Walter first speaks with Phyllis and their flirting turns into spoken words of speed limits.  It was left to the viewers to fully decipher what the characters actually meant.  Also, the love story is dark.  It can be described as passionate and deadly.  They plan a murder together, and it turns out there was no love between Walter and Phyllis after all.  There was only manipulation and corruption between the two of them, clearly shown when the two of them are willing to shoot each other at the end.  To add to the depressing themes, there was no happy or optimistic ending.  Both characters reached their ultimate downfall.  Overall, film noir aims to show the darker sides of human nature, and Double Indemnity does just that with its characters, setting, and storyline.