Double Indemnity: When Femme Fatale Takes The Throne

I must say that I am a big fan of black and white movie. I know it sounds old but there is something in black and white movies so attractive and so unique that movies right now don’t have or had lost it. Back in 1940s to 1950s, there was a genre that every filmmaker loved to make. Film Noir. According to Oxford dictionary, it is being defined as “a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace”. This genre focus mostly on murder scheme and the protagonist was often a detective, who was hired to investigate a case. But they usually fell in love with beautiful, blonde ladies, who were dangerous. There were a lot film noir movies, but there was one move that got my attention the most and left inside me the best impression ever. Double Indemnity.

Source: IMDb

Directed by Billy Wilder and being published in 1944, Double Indemnity is a great movie of the film noir genre. It is full unexpected twist and cold blood murder scheme. It gives the audience another look about the greed inside each person which can change one person’s nature. Walter Neff, an insurance seller, is a good man and the whole insurance company likes him because of his selling skill. And yet, in just a moment, he has changed himself into a cold blood murderer and when he realizes everything, it is too late. But the character Walter Neff is just a pawn in the chess game of Phyllis Dietrichson, a woman full of secrets and manipulation inside her. If that doesn’t seduce Walter Neff or her husband, what will then? The lightning in that scene has focused mostly on Phyllis where she can show all the best of her. Phyllis in the very first scene when Walter met him is a very beautiful woman in the light with blonde hair and pretty face. The audience or like me can never predict anything from this woman. We just think she is beautiful and such a sweet woman. Also, the expression on Walter’s face has shown that this guy has been seduced by Phyllis.

In a living room scene in the , Phyllis and Walter have a conversation about Mr. Dietrichson’s insurance which has unleashed the greed inside Phyllis. But she has not shown it to anyone else. And in the second meeting with Walter, she plays her role as a wife who worries about her husband’s life. Until her sudden meeting with Walter in his apartment, Phyllis tells Walter all about her life with Mr. Dietrichson like how he never loves her, treats her differently, or all kinds of bad things about him. In that scene, Phyllis is sitting next to a lamp but it doesn’t light on her face, it only lights her clothes and her face is completely in the dark which we can see the danger of this woman. Something will never come to the light and it will stay in the dark forever. Just like that they have planned a “perfect” murder.

The light and the dark combined in this movie can tell the nature of each character, especially Phyllis Dietrichson, a woman who we think is nice and turns out to be a bad woman. The performance of Barbara Stanwyck is very stunning, wonderful and the best where she can bring out all her badness inside the Phyllis Dietrichson character.

Highly Recommend!