Sample Paper
Double Indemnity
The cinematographer in Double Indemnity developed the visual style of the film by using low key lighting, high and low angle shots to establish relationships, and symbolic shadows to give added meaning to the film.
In Double Indemnity, the use of low key lighting in the black and white movie creates a mysterious atmosphere for this drama that takes place in Los Angeles. In the beginning, the main character, Walter Neff, played by Fred MacMurray, is introduced in shadow with his back to the audience. We know that something is wrong; this is not the usual entrance for a main character. When he enters the insurance building at night, the lighting is low key, even though workers are cleaning the offices.
All during Neff’s confession, the lighting is again low key, which suggests the "darkness" of his deeds. The lamp next to the Dictaphone is used as the key light, but does not give off much illumination. Neff still sits in shadows. This emphasizes Neff’s guilt as he records his story.
The low key lighting is not confined to just the beginning and the confession, however. It permeates throughout the entire movie. When Neff visits Phyllis, played by Barbara Stanwyck, the first image we see when she opens the door is the shadow of Neff on her wall, suggesting possibly that his darker side surfaces as he enters her house. When Phyllis is alone or with Neff, her house is always in shadows, even during the day. It is only when her husband and stepdaughter are present that there is enough light to cast away the darkness.
The shadows are not reserved for Phyllis' house alone; the lighting in Neff's apartment is also low key, even when he switches on all the lights. As Phyllis begins telling Neff of her unhappy marriage, her face should be brightly lit, since she sits less than a foot away from a lamp. Instead, her face is shrouded in shadow, suggesting she has ulterior motives underlying her story. When lighting is finally used to highlight their faces, the small amounts of light are in sharp contrast to the shadows because of the darkness in the room.
High and low angle camera shots are utilized to show the relationships between Neff and Phyllis. When we are first introduced to Phyllis, she is standing on an upper plane looking down at Neff. The cinematographer uses these high and low angles shots to establish from the beginning which character will have the power. Ironically, Phyllis is the controlling person in the relationship, even though Neff is the idea man. Because of her wiling ways, she is successful in manipulating Neff to do her evil business. Neff finally realizes that he has been used, and at the end, when Phyllis points out to Neff that they are both bad people, he correctly replies that she is even “more so.”
The shadows from the venetian blinds are a motif that is repeated throughout the film, possibly symbolizing the bars of a prison. These shadowy bars fall across Neff inside Phyllis’s house and at the insurance agency. It is as if Neff is trapped and can’t get away. It is fitting that the last look at Los Angeles that Neff takes is through the partially open blinds of the office, foreshadowing that his escape is not possible.
Film noir, or black film, reflects the ugliness of humanity. Double Indemnity stays true to the darkness of this genre through its cinematography use of low key lighting, high and low angle shots, and symbolic shadows. (594 words)