Double Indemnity: The fatality of love

The first thing that one notices about this movie is that it begins at the end. The character Mr. Neff walks into his office, an insurance company, bleeding and having difficulty walking. Furthermore he begins to narrate the movie by, in a sense, giving away the ending of the movie saying that he did it, he murder the guy. Of course at this point the audience had no idea what’s going on, only that there is a man bleeding and admitting murder, beginning to narrate the movie starting from the his first encounter with this situation. In this sense this movie borrowed from Citizen Kane which also used the idea of introducing the ending first, starting from the beginning to fill in the gaps which the audience wishes to learn. One could say that this way of beginning a movie although at first revealing, in the end leaves the audience more curious then if the ending was not introduced at all.
This seemed to be the era in movies where a very attractive and feisty woman was playing the lead female role. Attractive women playing the lead role will forever attract audiences as they provide curiosity and spice to the film. A perfect example of this is when Mr. Neff, the main character, first arrives at the house of the Dedrickson’s. The first thing he sees is a beautiful women’s ankle atop a stair case. This foreshadows not only the romantic chemistry to come but also the danger of love. As Mr. Neff and Mrs. Dedrickson begin to speak about insurance policies, sexual innuendos arise. One particular quote which I thought to be lightly sexual pertaining to that time period was when it became evident that Mr. Neff was smitten by Mrs. Dedrickson. He makes a sexual comment and she replies, “There’s a speed limit of 45 in this state” to which he responds, “How fast was I going?” she replies “90”. However sexual this may be this could also be another example of foreshadowing; when one moves to quickly problems arise and you end up getting caught.
It is obvious there that the chemistry between these two characters is too dangerous and that continuing their ambiguous relationship would only lead to more trouble. It is at this point where the narrator, who is Mr. Neff. explains that their relationship could have ended at that point, but “the hook was to strong”. In some ways I thought of the movie Basic Instinct when I saw this movie. Although the plot is different as well as the role of the two characters, the idea that the relationship between the to main characters lead to corruption and danger; as well as the sheer seduction which the actress brings to the set.
It is at this point in the film where the love between these two characters appears to be unbreakable and the murder plot is underway. In fact Mr. Neff who at first suspected Mrs. Dedrickson of wanting to kill her husband is now helping her instead of turning her in. This is where the message of the movie became evident and that is the notion of the danger of love. Not only that but while the two are planning a way to kill Mr. Dedrickson, Mr. Neff is now also becoming greedy. He now realizes that in a certain situation of death Mrs. Dedrickson will reap $100,000 instead of $50,000, double indemnity. The fact that this might work excites the both of them so they get the Mr. Dedrickson to unknowingly sign an accidental insurance policy. This was the most powerfully filmed scene in the entire movie as Mr. Neff and Mr. Dedrickson are sitting down placed on each side of the frame while Mrs. Dedrickson, who is placed in the center, looks on with a grin as her husband signs the insurance policy. It is a very unique point in the movie because she is looking at her soon to be dead husband and her future husband trying not to lose her composure. One might call this particular spot in the film, the point of no return.
Further into the film this notion of the danger of love builds. The once thought love between Mrs. Dedrickson and Mr. Neff is now being replaced with fear and uncomfortable thought. It’s like the director was trying to say that love is never true when you have to kill for it. Another character who played an excellent role despite his eventual uncovering of the truth was the boss of Mr. Neff, Mr. Keys. It is interesting to think that although Mr. Keys handled the claims for the insurance company his hunches could have been compared to that of a detective. He never stopped pursuing the truth and it was evident the way he felt inside.
Overall I thought this movie to be very clever, and intriguing, with subtle borrowings from Citizen Kane and other aspects of that era. The moral of the movie, love and murder don’t mix because murder is never perfect and it will destroy love.