Will you kill a stranger just because his wife told him that he is a bad guy? Well Walter Neff in this movie does exactly that. "Double indemnity" is considered as one of the best Film-Noir out there. The cinematography by John Seitz and the story and direction by Billy Wider makes this film a masterpiece. This film is genius at many different levels, it is a case study on human behavior.
Mr. Dietrichson is a rich businessman who just doesn't care about anyone and all he wants is money. His wife Phyllis Dietrichson is fed up of him, she will be harassed by him and she just wants to get out. At the right movement Walter Neff an insurance sales agent comes to see Mr. Dietrichson. Phyllis will seduce Walter and convinces him kill her husband, but Walter being an insurance agent gets a better idea where by killing Mr. Dietrichson and making it look like an accident and claiming double indemnity will make them both rich. They both will start planning.
This film belongs to crime genre and the Film-Noir style takes this film to another level. The use of light and shadows subconsciously tells us about the story the movie is telling. In the movie we don't know much about the characters, we don't know if Phyllis is telling the truth or lying all the time.
Billy Wilder uses camera to trick the audience a lot of times in the movie. A low angle shot is used to show that the character has power and a high angle is used to show weakness. But, in this film Billy Wilder shows a high angle shot to Phyllis, telling she is weak and vulnerable. But, in reality she is very powerful and is ready to fight for anything she wants. This use of camera puts the audience in the mode of confusion where they are not sure about the characters real face.
The sound also played a major role in this film. There is a background score, but when Walter and Phyllis are flirting with each other there is no background score. This is just to make the audience feel the tension between them. The tension and the chemistry is amplified because of the silence. This is used by Iranian film director Asgar Fardhi, but he takes it to another level where he makes the entire film without the background score.
This film will make you bite your nails and sit at the edge of your seat. An engaging thriller that will make you go mad because of the suspense. I highly recommend this film to everyone. Thank you for reading this post. For more posts and reviews on movies follow me. Cheers!
