'Double Indemnity' by Billy Wilder Review: A story of deception, romance, and crime

I had no intentions of watching anything today, nor did I have any intentions of reviewing anything! But this new user on Hive @ankushraj appeared in the Movies & TV Shows community Discord server and recommended 1944's Double Indemnity to me.

And if there's an era of film that I could never grow tired of, it's the era of black-and-white film noir, where multiple genres of storytelling collide to produce a concoction of drama, romance, and crime. Where simplicity in filmmaking techniques are used but to perfection, capable of putting the many modern entries of film to shame despite the many decades of technology that have pushed our abilities forward.

It's in this era of film where you'll find some of the greatest writing talents that have been fortunate enough to have been given the spotlight. Where scripts are often very tightly wrapped, featuring only what is needed, despite having plenty of depth, twists, and lines of dialogue which have you quickly question: "Where did this talent go?"

This happened to me numerous times throughout my viewing of Double Indemnity, where I could feel myself increasingly pulled in by the film's suspense, with very little idea of where things were heading despite a very revealing opening; though such an opening serves purely to grasp your attention. It worked perfectly on me. Its characters and rising levels of tension. Its claustrophobic aspect ratio and environments. Such little places to hide, and an inevitable failure from an unfolding series of events.

Its narrative showing that there's nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run to for our characters. Where the delusion crafted by the idea of romance tells us otherwise, even as that idea of escape simply becomes tunnel vision.

Double Indemnity immediately throws you into its narrative with the appearance and narration of an insurance salesman. We see him wounded in the shoulder with the slight sign of blood, sweating considerably and starting an audio recording in which the audience is given the first signs of context. His voice is articulate, accepting of fate, and his words speak of a reflection of events that've clearly gone wrong.

I really enjoyed this introduction, it was quick and instantly introduces us to the story and main character. With small elements of visual storytelling for additional context for that extra grasp at your attention. Immediately you're trying to piece together what went wrong, and it's here where the film slowly begins to unwind its prior events and play them out. Through the frequent addition of narration from our protagonist.

If you've read any of my posts before, you may remember that I am a huge fan of such storytelling. Where the audience is placed directly into the minds of characters through either an inner-monologue or narration. It allows for the visuals to flourish and for a more personal connection that makes the film more immersive, as we understand more of our characters from a front-row seat.

This becomes a significant strength in how the story is told later on as it progresses, where as answers are revealed we see a more weary stature in our protagonist. His stances and general body language being more suspicious and under concern, where he hides more in the background of the scenes and his dialogue becomes more sparse; there's separation between the protagonist and other characters, but none whatsoever from the audience.

As the film progresses, we see that this series of events is one that's a result of romance. Where a beautiful woman married to the salesman's client appears fragile, lost, and neglected in the relationship. She's wanting a better life for herself, and portrays herself in this damsel-like manner; she's a woman that needs to be saved. She hints at the possibility of also seeking life insurance for her husband, to which there are other implications to follow as her sudden interest in the salesman becomes apparent.

From here Double Indemnity becomes a story of manipulation and crime. Where romance becomes a lie in order to achieve a devious plot that'll result in riches. No matter how good the crime itself plays out, it's doomed from the start due to various deceptions and a game larger than our protagonist being played without his knowing.

Double Indemnity's environments are mostly interiors: small offices, living rooms, and even a drug store where discreet meetings take place frequently in order to plot and exchange ideas. Alongside the use of its 1.37:1 aspect ratio which results in a very square image, as seen in the screenshots in this review.

This aspect ratio means there's a significant attention to detail in both foreground and background, allowing for interesting compositions and use of body language which is evident to the audience even when a specific character is not the scene's direct focus. This consideration of both foreground and background offers a diverse range of directing where typical photography methods are both understood and appreciated: the rule of thirds, significant depth-of-field to ensure backgrounds remain in focus when necessary.

Through this, it also allows for the film to maintain its nature of suspense as situations grow in severity. Where it's clear our characters have grown trapped in their own plans. Where they're enclosed within these four small lines which produce the box world they live inside. It promotes the idea that there's no place left to hide, or to run to. Each place is within view, both in the foreground and background. Their demise is merely a matter of time, rather than something that can be avoided.

I found myself appreciating these filmmaking styles more and more as the film went on, when it was clear that these filmmaking limitations were not being seen as such, but instead as a tool to be used to amplify the emotion and narrative of the film. While this isn't specific to Double Indemnity, it's incredibly fascinating to see how technological limitations were utilised. Suspense was not just an element of its narrative, but an emotion that could easily be felt and growing in intensity.

As mentioned prior, the film's script is an incredible feat. There's so much consideration for the environments, actions of characters, and how narration is played into this narrative where answers are revealed piece by piece.

Though this certainly couldn't be achieved without a strong understanding of how to read a script and act it out correctly. I found myself growing close to these characters due to their performances. I want more of them! I usually roam through the Internet shortly after viewing a film to read more about how it was made, but I found myself first finding out what else these actors had been featured in. Through one performance alone, by Edward G. Robinson, I knew roughly what to expect from the film. For his performance is Orson Welles' The Stranger was just as enticing.

It's rare for me to really praise performances, since actors these days don't feel as diverse and typically stick to a very enclosed area of filmmaking that suits them, rarely to stray out into other areas -- and often enough when they do, it isn't a good thing. But I felt that these actors had been perfectly cast for their roles, and understood how to portray these characters with excellence. It certainly had its noir feel to it, with the frequent matching of cigars and cigarettes; the leaning against various objects in the environment promoting the body language of both fear and sophistication.

There was almost a degree of insanity to these performances. Where one could easily question how these characters managed to maintain their awareness and emotions for such a long time. This only amplified my enjoyment of how answers are revealed and how scene by scene we see the characters slowly falling apart as the realisation of their future not only becomes clear, but approaching fast. All alongside cinematography which is often rather static, simply observing from a corner of the room, giving us the feeling that we know all of what is taking place, and that the truth is evident for all to see even if to the characters their murder and attempts to remain hidden are working.

There's something about Double Indemnity that makes its narrative timeless. It's such a believable concept that we can still see taking place even to this day. It speaks of the selfish, the gullible, and the manipulation of individuals through the concept of love. While it may use a more traditional aspect ratio and and series of environments, it's very much a film that can hold up against today's typical entries in the film industry.

It's something I highly enjoyed, and can safely recommend to another. More particularly if you're a fan of black-and-white films and can highly appreciate when a number of different talents come together from different areas of filmmaking. If you're a fan of good writing: this is for you. If you're a fan of strong performances: this is for you.