Double Indemnity

How does Wilder show the relationship between the characters in the penultimate scene of Double Indemnity?

 

In the penultimate scene, Wilder shows the relationship between Walter and Phyllis with clever uses of lighting, shadows and camera angles.

 

When Walter enters the room he casts a very large shadow on the wall. This shows that he is the most powerful character in the scene. Phyllis does not cast a shadow on the wall this shows that she is vulnerable in and is the weaker character of the two. Also there is often a shadow cast on Walter’s face. This shows that there may be two sides to his character and also gives the audience the sense that he has the aura of a villain.

 

Later on in the scene when Walter is stood at the window the blinds cast shadow bars on his body. This is reminiscent of gun shots which will significant later on in the scene. These shadows may be Wilder’s way of foreshadowing events. The use of shadows and sharp angles makes the viewer unable to tell how big the room is and what some of the props are.

 

One of the key pieces of the mise-en-scene is the huge chair in the background behind Phyllis. This makes the audience ask questions about why the chair is where it is in the scene. It is in the corner of the room and not being used. The shows us that the chair belonged to Phyllis’ husband who was murdered. The fact the chair is still there could show that Phyllis is supposedly grieving for her husband when in fact she wanted him dead.

 

Another important aspect of the scene that shows the relationship between the two characters is the costume. Walter is wearing a dark suit which again has a whiff of villain about it. The hat that he is wearing also casts a shadow on his fasts which helps to perhaps hide his identity and again is reminiscent of classis villain costume. The suit does show that he is in a position of power in the scene. Phyllis is wearing a white dress. White is the colour of innocence which is contradictory to Phyllis’ recent past, however towards the end of the scene there is a drastic change in her personality when she tells Walter that she has feelings for him. Her white dress is of contrasting colour to his dark suits which reflects their contrasting personalities in the scene.  The darkness of his suit could suggest that he may be a dark person which the audience see at the very end of the scene.

 

Towards the end of the scene Phyllis shoots Walter but fails to kill him. After this Walter walks towards Phyllis. As he does this there is a high angle shot looking down on Phyllis from behind Walter. This shows that despite the fact that Phyllis is still holding the gun, Walter is still the more powerful of the two characters. He is in control of the situation and Phyllis is very vulnerable as the high angle shot shows. When Walter is stood up behind Phyllis in the chair the audience can see that is the more influential of the two. The low angle shot at this point looking up at him shows this and could also be an indicator that he is there with the intention of killing Phyllis.

When Film Noir was at its peak in popularity it was just after the Second World War. This was when, in America, males were not equal with females when they returned from fighting in the war. Females had the jobs that men usually held prior to the war. This is reflected in the scene when it’s revealed that Phyllis was using Walter to make money.  At the very end of the scene when the characters are together the camera is still looking slightly up at Walter as it has throughout the scene. This is just before Walter kills Phyllis. The simple factor of height also shows how vulnerable Phyllis is as she is much shorter than Walter.

 

To conclude, Wilder uses the conventions of Film Noir to great effect in showing that Walter is the more powerful of the two characters. Wilder uses shadows, sharp angles and a variety of camera shots and angles to show this.