Blog Entry # 2 (Double Indemnity p. 3-70)

Double Indemnity is a masterpiece of its own, I have not read any book about noir and this one gives me a better understanding about the concept. “Nightmarish, weird, erotic, ambivalent and cruel” is how Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton described noir on their article “Towards a Definition of Film Noir”. Double Indemnity falls perfectly under this category and I will base that on two things, one is the plot and second is the characters.

            Borde and Chaumeton state that “it is the presence of crimes which gives film noir its most constant characteristics…Few cycles in the entire history of film have put together in seven or eight years such a mix of foul play and murder” indeed, this are all present in this story. A foul play and a murder that is brilliantly plan in a span of six weeks by two people (Walter and Phyllis) all because of money and the idea of love that they thought they have. The murder is plan carefully and with accuracy, from the place, the materials and the people, a program of a stage accident designed to kill a man is what they created and studied for weeks. The evil course of actions takes place on a car and the railroad; it was described in full details. It is like a living nightmare reading this book; I feel the darkness, the danger, the suspense and the fear of the characters, Like I’m part of it, a main witness hiding on the bushes watching the murder, shaking to death and scared to get caught.
           
            The other element of noir that this story has is the characters. “He is often enough masochistic, even self-immolating, one who makes his own trouble…At times he is a passive hero who allows himself to be dragged across the line into the gray area between legal and criminal behavior” is how Borde and Chaumeton described the characteristic of the protagonist. It is played well by Mr. Walter Huff; an insurance agent fell in love with his client’s wife. The mastermind of everything, the reason for killing is love and money. He planned everything on his own without knowing that he is being played and manipulated by the sweet and lovely femme fatal in the character of Phyllis. In agreement with Borde and Chaumeton “femme fatal is fatal to herself, frustrated and deviant, half predator, and half prey, detached yet ensnared. She falls victim to her own traps” Her first attack is the night he invited him over when their maid is off, a little kiss is how their team up started.  It was his idea and she goes along with him, I know there something odd about her, by playing innocent, she follows him too much and let him do all the dirty work. She has him around his neck controlled like a puppet without him knowing it, blinded by his emotions and interest to her is the power she has over him. She is very dangerous in a way that no one can see it, everything is an act, it is her own show, directed by her, produce and written by Walter but all the credits goes to her.

            The last aspect that can determine that this story is indeed a work of noir is because it is a crime from within. The author did a good job on touring us inside the mind of a criminal like Walter, how it works, why he does it and how he does it. To be able to see what a criminal see and feel how he feels gives me chill, it is the ghastly side of life and this story illustrate a fatalistic interpretation of a reality. So there is no doubt that Double Indemnity is classify as a work associated with film noir.