The movie begins with a bloody Walter recording the story onto a tape recorder for his boss, the rest of the story is simply a flashback with Walter's narrating. Walter goes to the Dietrichson's house to get the auto insurance renewed and in the process falls in love with Phyllis, a wife who is a little too interested in the company's life insurance policy. From there Walter and Phyllis trick Mr. Dietrichson into signing a life insurance policy and eventually kill him, employing the Double Indemnity clause by using a train as means of murder. From there all hell breaks loose as an investigation concerning Mr. Dietrichson means of death are investigated by Barton Keyes, Walter's boss. Keyes can sense anything wrong in a death and Walter gets nervous that his plot will be foiled. As I do not wish to spoil the rest I will leave it at that.
Double Indemnity is classic film noir. The use of lighting is particularly beautiful here, creating a feel of unease and suspicion matching the emotions of our characters and keeping us interested. Characters hide in shadows creating beautiful dramatic irony and tension for at any moment someone could die or get caught. One scene in particular stands out: the moments before Mr. Dietrichson's murder. Walter hides in the shadows in the back of the car on the way to the train station. Mr. Dietrichson is completely unaware of his wife's intentions and has no idea Walter is there. The scene seems to go on forever as we wait, on the edge of our seats, for the inevitable.
As is a classic classification of film noir is the femme fatale. Phyllis Dietrichson is the perfect example of a femme fatale. She convinces Walter to assist her in the murder of her husband, while not out rightly asking she tricks him into it, and leads to his eventual demise.
There is also tension as we become more aware of Walter's possibility of being caught. Even right after the under the car almost doesn't start, trapping Phyllis and Walter at the sight of the crime, foreshadowing all the difficulties the two will have getting away. Later, a man on the train is almost able to identify him, definitely confirming it was not Mr. Dietrichson on the train. Phyllis is called in for questioning, as it turns out there is a question as to the death of her husband. Later, Walter listens to a tape in Keyes office which clears him as a suspect, yet the idea that he was under suspect is an alarming realization. Many obstacles get in the way of the two claiming their money and escaping.
The fact that this movie is told through flashback is interesting because we know where our protagonist ends yet we must figure out how he got there. We are aware that he is confessing and surely dying from a wound yet how he ends up there is in question for an hour and a half. We have constant inserts of the present thrown into the story to remind us where our story will eventually lead us as well as show progression as to how Walter is doing, getting worse every time we see him. The story is interesting and the pay off is great, though dark, as it is with most film noirs. We witness first hand the downfall of our protagonist at the hand of a femme fatale.
Perhaps the reason I love this movie so much is my previous love for Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train which I couldn't help but notice the similarities to. I did some research and it turns out Hitchcock was somewhat inspired by Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity while working on his movie and actually turned to it's crew for help. The idea of two of my favorite directors working in collaboration, even through proxy, is enough to make me want to weep. If you have seen either movie I urge you to see the other, the familiarity is haunting yet each director brought their own specialty to their own which I found to be quite remarkable.
Thanks for sticking in these last three days for Wilder reviews, I'll be reviewing a different director's work tomorrow. Make sure to check out the Wilder films I've reviewed here as well as others, he is truly a great director.
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