Classic film noir

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity is the first movie you think of when asked of classic film noir. It was a fictional crime based on a novel by James Caine. The film was released in 1944 and was directed by Billy Wilder.

The characters in Double Indemnity follow suit of the typical film noir genre.

Walter Neff narrates through out the whole film about his own fall and what lead him to the sticky end. He's always smoking and is the typical anti hero. plays the beat down insurance salesman that gets played by his attraction.

Phyllis Dietrichson is your run of the mill femme fatale, pretty, slightly dark and mysterious and more and more manipulative through the duration of the film. She winds Neff round her little finger with the picture of being happy together with the pay off of her husbands insurance policy.

The film follows a non linear storyline. We are shown Neff who has been shot and who is not in a good way at the beginning and the end of the film. From which he is telling his story and his actions to how he has ended up in this predicament. There is heavy music through out the dramatic scenes. There are often cut back through the movie to him in the office voicing his story and a dictaphone. There is high contrast of black and white and the occasional vanician blind effect. Various close ups coupled with prominent cigarette smoke make for a classic film noir touch leaving you intrigued to see how it all pans out.