Since I was one of several in the class who voted film noir for our genre unit, I was definitely looking forward to watching Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity. While I had not seen this film before, I am such a fan of film noir that it was not likely that I would be disappointed…and I wasn’t. Double Indemnity had all the elements you could ask for from a great film noir piece. Obviously Double Indemnity had the amazing visual style, that is, the sharp contract between light and shadows which is central to film noir. Then of course there is the very distinctive style of storytelling and use of language. Although the linguistic style of film noir tends to be very dramatic, which requires a greater level of suspended disbelief I think there is still something honest and realistic in the way the story is told. Sure no one really speaks so figuratively as the characters in a film noir but I think the protagonists use of poetic speech as s/he narrates the story, gives the impression that they are telling letting the viewer in on their most intimate thoughts and feelings. Much of Walter Neff’s narration had this self-disclosing quality. Admittedly a number of his lines were laughably over the top but for the most part I found that the narration allows you to connect with his character and even hope that he will get away with his crimes. I also love way the story is told in a fragmented manner, often revealing the narrative bit by bit through the use of flashbacks. I think this too very realistically captures the way people tell a story. That said, Double Indemnity, as with the other film noirs I have seen, this narrative style makes for a suspenseful story that had me hooked from the start.
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