Double Indemnity Blog

The first movie I watched from the film noir unit was Double Indemnity. The movie revolved around plots, and scandal. I would say that this film is a good example of film noir. One of the tell tail signs was the low key lighting. Very seldom in the movie was there high key lighting. The scenes were shadowy, and there was contrast between light and dark. The contrast I saw was minimal, but it was still there. Lighting had a big effect on the movie. The darkness helped show how dismal and dark the plot was. There was also use of venetian blinds, which made the movie seem more mysterious. It also made the scene more interesting to pay attention to. Another way this film was a good example of film noir was the fact that the characters were corrupt, there was a very negative tone, and in the end the main characters are doomed. I found it interesting that the movie focused mostly on the bad guys. The exceptions to this rule being Keyes, and Lola. They were good in the movie, and they were included to develop the plot. Most of the other good people such as the guy seen on the train were only featured in the movie twice. Another key element present of film noir in the film was the voice over narration. Throughout the whole movie Walter is heard narrorating. It is made known from the beginning of the film that Walter confesses. This is done so he is able to do the voice over narration, thus being able to explain everything about the movie more. Because of this, the movie goes in depth more about the emotions Walter feels. It builds more on him as a character, so the audience can understand him better. Personally I wasn't very fond of this movie, but that doesn't make it any less of a good example of what film noir really is.