Analysis Paper On Movie Double Indemnity (1944) Essay

The movie Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder is considered to be the classic masterpiece of the U.S. cinematograph. This movie discusses not only interpersonal relations between men and women, but also it reveals corruption and immorality found in the society of those times. The movie Double Indemnity attracts attention of the present day spectators by its well-developed camerawork, mise-en-scene, sound and editing. These techniques create an unforgettable impression of tragic end of the main character Walter Neff who fell in love with a young woman but did not understand her ugly nature, the nature of the murderer.
It is interesting to note that the movie Double Indemnity is regarded as a film noir. Double Indemnity represents two temporal movements, such as the movement of real time and the movement of remembered time. The first scene is very important in the movie. The movie opens with the main character Walter Neff, an experienced insurance agent, who arrived at his office in the middle of the night and delivered into the dictating machine his personal confession for killing a man, who was his client, — “for money and for a woman”. These words trigger one more important film technique, a flashback that narrated by his voice as is regarded as his confession. Gradually, the main character’s narrative represents real time and memory together. In this movie, the unusual juxtaposition of temporalities gives the spectator an opportunity to feel some negative and dangerous story that will be represented in the flashback. Finally, the spectators learn that Neff is about to die from the gunshot that he got at the end of his flashback.
In flashback, the main character of the movie Walter Neff identifies himself as the killer in the opening scene. This fact proves that Neff is an honest person although he committed a crime. He dictates his confession of murder to his chief Barton Claims, the person who has always believed Walter Neff and who even protected him when the police took his candidature as a murderer. Walter Neff says, “I killed Dietrichson – me, Walter Neff, insurance salesman, 35 years old, unmarried, no visible scars… (He glances down at his shoulder wound.) – until a while ago, that is. Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money and for a woman. I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman. Pretty, isn’t it?”
Phyllis Dietrichson is a woman who had an enormous impact on Walter Neff. She is a real murderer, a person who killed Mr. Dietrichson’s wife and who planned to kill his daughter Lola. Walter Neff was just a tool in her hands. He thought that she loved him and wanted to help her to get rid of her husband. Phyllis Dietrichson persuaded Walter that her husband treated her ill, but it was a lie. She just wanted to kill him and his daughter and to take all their money.
It is necessary to say that such film technique as flashback that is defined as scenes that deal with the past time, but are inserted in the present time, helps the spectators to realize the honest nature of the main character, who killed Phyllis Dietrichson, the real murderer and helped Lola, the daughter of Mr.Dierrichson to avoid death. However, it is wrong to think that Walter Neff is innocent. He wanted to earn a larger sum of money, $100,000 and to marry Phyllis. That is why he agreed to commit a crime. This is his fault.
One more film technique that is of great importance in the movie Double Indemnity is editing. It is known that editing is defined as a film technique which refers literally to how shots in the movie are put together in order to make up a good movie. In Double Indemnity, editing is well-developed. The shots follow one another and create a clear picture of the consecutive events. What is more important is that editing technique in the movie helps to change the rhythm and pace of the spectators’ perception. It gives the sense of drama.
Besides the above mentioned techniques used in the movie, special attention should be paid to the use of music. The movie starts with rather emotional non-diagetic music which develops the sense of urgency and anxiety. Moreover, the same can be said about the scenes which represent the most strained situations, the murder of Mr.Dietrichson, the last conversation in the house of Phyllis, and others.
Moreover, in the movie Double Indemnity the use of lighting influences the meaning of shot. Film makers use both backlight and under-lighting. In such film noir lighting technique is a significant aesthetical principle as it gives an opportunity to reveal the characters’ function. When Walter Neff enters the office of the insurance company he has been working for 11 years the spectators can see only thin bars of white light that are projected across his chest, as if he was in a prison cell. As Walter switches the light on in the room, the room is fully flooded with white and all the shadows are removed. This film technique is known as Chiaroscuro2, which stands for the artful use of shades in black-and-white photography. This technique gives the spectators opportunity to understand the nature of Walter Neff’s actions. In this case, the above mentioned film technique shows that the main character is seeking redemption that can bring him out of the shadows metaphorically by means of his honest confession, into the light. Moreover, this film technique helps the spectators to understand Walter Neff’s character and his narrative function in the movie, the function of the male protagonist. This understanding of main characters plays an important role in Classic Hollywood cinematograph. So, the opening scene in the movie is of great importance as it constructs Walter Neff’s character by means of the lighting of the set, his gloomy, bare and uninspiring office in the insurance company, the mise-en-scene, and the continuous motif of lighting a match which is represented in many scenes of the movie.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is necessary to say that the movie Double Indemnity of 1944 is really a classic masterpiece of the U.S. cinematograph. The use of such film techniques as flashback, sound, editing, lighting, mise-en-scene and others play a significant role in explicit, implicit and suggestive meanings of the movie. Walter Neff is represented as not only a murderer who committed a crime “for money and for a woman”, but also as a man of strong character who could dictate his confession and kill the woman the love to whom made him become a criminal.