Summary
Double Indemnity is a 1944 film about an insurance salesman who becomes seduced into plotting the death of a client. As Walter Neff, an insurance agent, slips into his office while bleeding from a gunshot wound, he records his murder confession on the Dictaphone whereby he addresses his friend and boss Barton Keyes. The events are a culmination of what has happened since he met Phyllis Dietrichson, his client’s wife. During a follow-up of Mr. Dietrichson’s automobile insurance renewal, Walter instantly gets attracted to his client’s wife Phyllis who first appears only wrapped in a towel. Walter flirts with her and a change of appointment sees him and Phyllis alone the next day. Phyllis wants Walter to help get an accidental policy for her husband without his knowledge, something which upsets Walter.
However, Walter soon gives in to Mrs. Dietrichson seductive whims and agrees to help her kill her husband. Phyllis wants to have her husband killed, and after explaining her reasons to him, Walter tries to achieve an undetectable crime by devising a scheme that would receive two times the amount according to a double indemnity clause. Eventually, both manage to kill Mr. Dietrichson (Walter strangles him) and leaves his body on the train tracks. When Dietrichson’s body is found on the tracks, the police determine it as an accidental death. However, there is a twist in the payment of the insurance claim when Barton Keyes discovers that Mr. Dietrichson might have been murdered by his wife with the help of another man.
Analysis
Outright, Double Indemnity can be described as a perfect example of a film noir. A film noir can be described as crime drama that puts emphasis on sexual motivations and cynical attitudes. It has a more or less plot of a beautiful woman who entraps a hero with promises of love, sex and money, only to betray him in the end. This is perfectly depicted in this movie. Initially, Phyllis seduces Walter so that he can assist in killing her husband. However, when their plot is almost uncovered, Phyllis prepares to kill him; she even shoots him though she does not kill him. Barbara manages to portray Phyllis as a character who embodies seduction and helplessness all in the aim of manipulating for her own gain.
Several other things also come out in the movie. It is clear that Phyllis is way too young than he husband Mr. Dietrichson. It is also clear that Phyllis does not love him and on the other hand, Dietrichson does not have any respect for her judging by her complaints against him. Phyllis is manipulative and that is why she plays the victim. In the real sense, she is not the victim, but the strong woman. On the other hand, Walter is the weak man who falls into her trap. He happens to be just the right person who can help Phyllis accomplish her plans. Walter thinks she loves him but this turns out to be false when Phyllis confesses that she never loved him. Just like the movie Sunset Boulevard, it is the main character, Walter who narrates the story with the aim of getting the audience to view the story as a tragic fall. Therefore, this film depicts a typical story of a beautiful woman who is responsible for the fall of an unsuspecting man.
