Double Indemnity Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Double Indemnity
Year: 1944
Director: Billy Wilder
Country: US
Language: English 

World War Two changed the face of America. Soldiers coming back from the war were traumatized by what they encountered in Japan and in Europe. Though America's economy was on the rise, the American people seemed more critical of their Government and were tired of information being withheld from them. The  mood during the war and after the war was not as Frank Capra depicted in It's A Wonderful Life, it was more in tune with the style of film noir, which was running rampant at the time.

The film is set in 1938, where Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), an experienced salesman of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co., meets the seductive wife of one of his clients, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck). They have an affair and Phyllis proposes to kill her husband to receive the proceeds of an accident insurance policy. The couple devise a scheme to receive twice the amount based on a double indemnity clause.

Billy Wilder is perhaps the greatest classic Hollywood filmmaker in the history of Cinema. He direct a comedy (Some Like It Hot) as well as he can direct a serious cold drama (Sunset Boulevard), so it is no surprise that Double Indemnity is considered a classic among film enthusiasts. The picture has not only a fantastic story, but it is also uniquely constructed; the film begins at the end, and is told through flashback, much like Wilder's later film Sunset Boulevard. The emphasis in Wilder's film is not who committed the crime or if the crime could be committed, it's how the crime was committed. This unique aspect led to a lot of imitation by other noir directors. 

Barbara Stanwyck is the perfectly cast femme fatale. Her natural sexual prowess and seductiveness sell very well on the screen. She also adds a layer of emotional detachment and cruelty to her character, which makes Phyllis Dietrichson even more villainous. Wilder creates a sense of dread and doom from the start of the film; the lighting, score and claustrophobic camera-work create a cold atmosphere where life seems to be of little importance.

In conclusion, Double Indemnity perfectly captures America's detached mood following the horrors due to World War Two. The villains of Wilder's film are very much like the people America were fighting in 1944; cold, calculating and careless about the lives of others. There are various opinions regarding the "best" Wilder film, but this is certainly one of my favourites. Praise it! 5/5