Double Indemnity: A Story of How No One Can Escape their Past...

Part 1

Paragraph 1: The author gives a catchy opening line to get the reader interested in learning more about the film.

Paragraph 2: The author provides a small amount of background on the director and on the genre of the film. He does this in order to give the reader an idea of what kind of movie they could end up watching, and what its general content is.

Paragraph 3: The author describes the plot in more detail. He does not give away the ending, but tells the reader the circumstances of the main characters in the film. He describes the sequence of events that get the story started.

Paragraph 4: The author writes why he enjoyed the film. He comments on the manner in which the script was written and the way this movie was directed which, in the author’s opinion, are responsible for the greatness of the movie. This gives the reader more insight as to the style of the movie.

Paragraph 5: The author comments on the performances of the actors in the movie, which obviously contribute to the overall quality of the film.

Paragraph 6: The author gives his conclusion to the review, and his final attempt to encourage readers to either go see the movie, or not go see the movie. In this case, the author thought the movie was worth watching, so he was urging readers to go watch it.



Part 2

Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, is a psychological thriller full of lust, mystery, and of course, murder.

Director and screenwriter Billy Wilder, previously the director of lighter, more comical films such as Ball of Fire and The Major and the Minor, has completed yet another Oscar-worthy film, although Double Indemnity is certainly not a comedy. Rather than laughter and romance, this movie is full of murder and deception, and is told through the eyes of Walter Neff (played by MacMurray), an insurance salesman.

During the first scene of the movie, Walter Neff confesses that he has murdered the husband of Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck). We then go back in time through Neff’s mind to when the murder scheme began. The attractive and seductive Phyllis Dietrichson manages to convince Neff to fraudulently sell her husband an insurance policy, and help her in his murder so she can collect on his insurance policy. Neff, being driven by his love for the beautiful seductress, willingly agrees and becomes sucked into this suspenseful web of murder and lies. The only person capable of discovering the true fate of Phyllis Dietrichson’s husband is Barton Keyes (played by Edward Robinson), the insurance claims manager at the company where Walter Neff works. Keyes is an insurance genius, and knows an infinite amount of insurance and death statistics. Not only has Keyes taught Neff everything that he knows about the insurance business, but he is also one of Neff’s best friends and mentor. While we know the truth about the murder committed by Neff, the authorities do not, and the thrill of the movie comes from watching Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson attempt to hide their actions and guilt as the mystery is unraveled.

While it comes as no surprise when Neff actually murders Mr. Dietrichson, the true drama lies within the gradual destruction of Neff and Phyllis as the authorities attempt to discover their secret. Not only does Neff have to hide the truth from the authorities, but he has to hide the truth from Keyes, which is difficult and emotionally painful. Walter Neff was sure of his motivations and love for Phyllis in the beginning, but as time passes after the murder of her husband, Neff’s mind begins to fight between its guilt and between its feelings for Phyllis. As Neff’s conscience gradually becomes beaten down by the guilt he is feeling, Phyllis appears unhindered by the murder of her husband. Her insensitivity and selfishness cause her to become even further tangled in a web of lies, and play a major role in her eventual demise. The dramatic relationship between Neff and Phyllis evolves, or rather, devolves, as Keyes and the authorities discover more about the murder, and as pieces of Phyllis’s past are revealed. The mental destruction of Neff and his relationship with Phyllis makes the movie a realistic reflection of human nature, in that once such a horrible crime is committed, it is nearly impossible for humans to continue on without consequence. In the end, it becomes obvious that no one can escape their past.

Fred MacMurray does an excellent job of playing a character that follows his heart rather than his mind, especially in the final scene, and Barbara Stanwyck is seductive and deceiving enough to persuade any man. Edward Robinson is smart, witty, and a voice of reason in a story where emotions are at their peak.

Although Billy Wilder has little experience directing suspense films, Double Indemnity is an emotional rollercoaster that is thrilling enough to keep anybody hooked from beginning to end.