Film Noirs

Last week I watched a film noir - 'Double Indemnity', which i thought was brilliant. It included many thriller signifiers, and the black and white filming added to the dark mise en scene and plot, and helped to create striking images as well as chirascuro lighting.

I found the opening of 'Double Indemnity' excellent, with just a silhouette of a man struggling to walk on crutches getting closer and closer to this screen. The image stuck in my mind, wondering what significance the crutches had to the film, and adding to the mystery i felt. This mystery continued as the credits stopped, and the camera used a mixture of pans and mid and long shots to follow a dark shadowy figure in a long coat and hat through the street and into a building. The audience is left wondering who the man is, where he is going and why, and suddenly light appears and he sits down, to begin narrating in a room which looks like an old fashioned office with venetian blinds, lots of brown wooden furniture and old telephone to indicate the era.

The mise en scene used in the opening of this is realistic and contemporary of the era in which it is set. There are venetian blinds which create a drammatic effect as light comes pouring through in strips, reminding the audience of bars in prison cells; instantly giving the suggestion that crime will play a large part in the narrative. The streets are very dark, with only light from street lights, giving the impression that he is trapped in darkness and is isolated, alone. His outfit - a long coat and a hat, removes his identity, and surrounds his character with mystery and intrigue, drawing the audience in to find out who he is. The lighting is naturalistic, especially as the director uses lighting from realistic props - street lamps and windows.

The camera work is very effective, as there is a variety in use of close ups, long shots, as well as varying use of pans, tracking and zooms. This helps to keep the audience entertained and engaged. Due to the time that the film was made, editing does not play a large role in the piece, which I think makes it effective as it is simple and not over-edited.

The film is narrated by the male protagonist as a confession of his crime, and uses flash backs to tell and show the twisting turning narrative , before cutting back to the protagonist in the office as he is found, post confession, and we are left on a cliff hanger of what happens to him in the end - if he dies, if he is sent to prison, or if he is allowed to walk free.

Typically of film noirs, 'Double Indemnity''s story is based around a hard hearted diillusioned male character and, very strongly in 'Double Indemnity', a beautiful promiscuous amoral femme fatale. As the femme fatale is murdered by the protagonist in this film, it fits in well with the view that this was typical because women during the war were given new independence and better job earning power, they would suffer on the screen of these 1940s films. 'Double Indemnity' also includes the key features of shadowy images, and anti hero, themes of manipulation, crime, murder, deperation, and moral corruption. This film, among other typical noirs focus on the inhumane and dark side of life and love.