Double IndemnityEssay Preview: Double IndemnityReport this essay“Double Indemnity” is one of the best films of all time, not necessarily because of its story but because of the acting, direction, cinematography, lighting, and the narrative style. At the time this film was released, the idea of revealing who the killer was in the opening scene was virtually unheard of, but it ended up being very effective because it allowed the audience to concentrate more on other elements of the film, which was the goal of Billy Wilder, the director. Instead of trying to figure out who the perpetrator was, there is more emphasis on how the crime was pulled off, what mistakes were made during the murder, who betrayed who, how close Barton Keyes was getting to solving the case, and probably most importantly, what kind of person Walter Neff is and whether or not sympathy should be felt toward him.
Barton Keyes has been a hero to most of life, and is often portrayed as someone who cares about others and is kind to those in need. That being said, his role in this film doesn’t have anything to do with the story or any of the other things that inspired John Doe. Instead, he comes off as an innocent. He’s an incredibly important character in The Bourne Legacy but despite his heroics, the film really plays with us more than the story could allow it. Barton Keyes does a great job of balancing both the emotional intensity and the drama, giving the audience an intimate look at the man that was shot down by the United States Navy. Though we’ll get to this later, his character plays as good a part in this case when he isn’t leading a charge. In a lot of scenes, Barton Keyes does a great first impression. We finally get a truly heartfelt look at how he is, and his actions. We learn something of what he’d like to do later on, not just in his actions, but what he can and will do to change the world. These feelings of loss for Barton Keyes become truly powerful when he is a truly evil man. The only thing that really hurts Barton Keyes in this story is realizing how bad he truly is. However, after the movie ends, our hero just doesn’t know what to do.
When we get to the opening scene with the victim, it’s clear that Barton Keyes is now dealing with someone that is in terrible danger. He is afraid for his life, and the only thing that is saving this man from this terrible situation is a man that can help him. Barton Keyes gives every effort to get the victim to save his life so he can be better than he’s even becoming. He knows he can’t do this. He just doesn’t care about what happens next. We see the emotional core of the relationship building through the first act, leading us to the final scene of Barton Keyes killing the people. We see the desperation in Barton Keyes’s voice and how he does everything to save these people when this terrible tragedy happens to everyone in his life. The audience doesn’t get an opportunity to learn about the man that ultimately killed him, only that the guy that had that first heart attack to help that young man into saving that young man’s life and he does whatever he can to save his life. The audience comes to see the character of that victim who really did a great work for Barton Keyes and it all adds out of the gate so much that the viewer has to watch the scene in its entirety, and then you feel the thrill of having seen and appreciated all of that. It’s incredibly emotional in this movie.
Finally, we move to the final scenes of the film where Jack Barton is gunned down in front of the American flag. In the final scenes of the film, Jack Barton just looks around in excitement and then decides to fight for his life. That act of courage and determination is all the more impressive when we realize just how powerful Jack lives in a world he grew up with and where he is the best threat ever. One scene reveals something that our good friend Jack may not have been as good as he’s been in this movie, but what he does really matters. The action takes place in an urban jungle that literally never is sunny. Even with Barton Keyes in sight, the action simply never gets ahead of the action that happened at the beginning of the movie.
Phyllis Dietrichson represents what is called “femme fatale,” a very attractive woman that leads a man into a dangerous, difficult or doomed situation. She is a particularly cold and ruthless manipulator who has no difficulty in ruining other peoples lives in various ways (including death, if necessary) in order to get what she wants. The “femme fatale,” also uses her sexual prowess, seductiveness, and emotional detachment to drag unsuspicious person, generally an interested man, into a scheme from which she is expected to profit deeply. Phyllis decides to recruit Walter Neff for this task, an insurance salesman. First he refuses and appears somewhat offended, but after she pays a visit to his apartment, he easily becomes a victim in her evil conniving plan against her husband. In addition, he voluntarily plots out the death of her husband, and decides to kill him on her behalf in the hopes that they will get the insurance money and be together.
Phyllis Dietrichson and Walter Neff have amazing chemistry. Their attraction is incredibly well portrayed, and the development of their relationship often so convincing that what happens between them almost seems normal. Phyllis knows exactly what to say to Walter because she has practiced every word over and over again in her head. So when the situation presented itself, she felt comfortable brings up the idea of life insurance to him. Whenever she interacts with him, she knows faithfully what to say because she has been planning for quite sometime the prospect of murdering her husband in order to collect his fortune.
Walter, conversely, methodically makes passionate advances as though this is something that he does regularly. Ultimately, he also plans out his conversations with Phyllis because he begins to suspect she is lying to him, so he is careful to make sure he only tells her only what she wants her to hear. This seemingly stiff dialogue brilliantly represents Phyllis and Walters precise and sinister intentions, and its quick pace creates a feeling of urgency and restlessness.
After they executed the plan to kill Mr. Dietrichson things started to get rocky. Walter returned home went to check on his vehicle, which should have secure his alibi because he told the gentleman that was cleaning his vehicle that he was not leaving his residence for the evening. He then decides to walk to the corner drug store. At this point he becomes paranoid and cannot sleep for the rest of the night. When he gets to work the next day he is very worried about how Mr. Barton Keyes is going to handle the Dietrichson case.
Probably the most fascinating and entertaining actor in the film is Barton Keyes, Walters friend and employer at the insurance company where he works. Keyes is a very suspicious man who closely investigates the insurance claims, which come into the company, having a striking history of accurately isolating fraudulent claims and throwing them out, makes Walter extremely edgy. At first he is not suspicious, but later he goes to see Walter and reveals that he is having doubt about where this case is valid. Not knowing that Phyllis is standing behind the door, he leaves to go to the corner drug store. Walter and Phyllis decide to hang loose for a while until everything blows over.
When Walter returns to work the next day, Ann Dietrichson is waiting to see him, of course he is really uneasy about the meeting, but he agrees to speak with her. She informs him that she believes Phyllis had something to do with her mothers death as well as her fathers sudden death. Walter quickly tries to reverse her thoughts, but she is persistent that Phyllis had something to do with their deaths. As a result, they begin to spend time together because Walter feels it is necessary to make sure she does not disclose her thoughts to anyone else. One evening while they together, she reveals that her former boyfriend has been visiting Phyllis and she fears they conspired to kill her father.
Consequently, Walter has a revelation and realizes that Phyllis has been misleading him from the beginning. He begins to thinks about Keyes statement, “The two people that committed this crime will ride the Trolley to the cemetery in the end. Keyes notify Walter that her believe Phyllis and Anns former boyfriend killed Mr. Dietrichson. Walter then decides to visit Phyllis to end her life, so she will not be able to implement him. Phyllis swiftly agrees to meet him, and follows his instructions to leave the door open and turn off the lights. Nevertheless, she waits on the sofa with a gun underneath the pillow. When Walter arrives he starts talking about killing her, and begins to moves to the window and pull the blinds close. She immediately pulls out her gun then shots him in this arm once, but does not shot again, even when Walter moves forward after her. She tells Walter that she loves him, but it is to late because Walter shoots her in the stomach.
Lastly, Walter goes back to the office and confuse the entire story, but he does this by using Keyess Dictaphone. When Keyes arrives it is apparent that he is disappointed with Walter, but he still loves him.
“Double Indemnity” begins with a bright light beaming on a blindfolded Philip Marlowe being interrogated by police, telling his story. Moose Malloy hires Marlowe to find VelmaValento. He gives him $100, and they go to a local bar looking for her. Moose gets upset with the owner and throws him into a bunch of chairs. At that point Marlowe and Moose leave, and Moose tells him he will be in contact with him later.
Next Marlowe goes to see Jessie Florian, he offers her a drink and she accepts. She pretends to quickly become drunk, but Marlowe has doubts she has become drunk that fast. She leaves to go look of any information that her deceased husband might have about Velma. Marlowe is suspicious of her behavior, so he hides behind the door while Jessie supposedly looks for the information