One:
The ending of Double Indemnity is very different in
the novel than it is in the film. In the novel, Keys puts Walter on a boat with
Phyllis. After they find each other and talk a little, they decide that suicide
would be the only way to avoid what was ultimately coming for them. In the
film, they shoot each other. Only Phyllis dies, and Walter is sent to prison.
At least, that is what is implied. Both the book and the movie leave the true
ending up to the reader a little bit, never saying what exactly happened to
Walter or Phyllis.
I would say that the ending of the film was more in
line with what we have learned of Film Noir. It was more exciting, there was
more action, and more back-stabbing. The end of the novel was too peaceful for
me, they shouldn’t have been able to choose when or how they died. Keys, who
was pretty much the leading detective in the story, shouldn’t have let them go.
They got off too easy. The film was much better. We see Walter go to Phyllis’s
house, planning to kill her. But she’s planning to kill him. They both wind up
shooting, but only Walter makes it out. While he was finishing up his
confession and planning to make his escape, Keys comes in and catches him. He’s
on his way out and he bleeds out. Keys calls the police, and it’s over. I still
think Walter got off too easy, but it is a better ending.
Two:
The Film Double Indemnity has heavy use of shadows
and other visual elements of Film Noir from the beginning. The opening scene is
Walter Neff, slowly walking through his workplace, totally surrounded by
shadows, with his back to the camera. We don’t see his face until he sits down
in the office, which is also totally dark. All throughout the film, we can see
the use of blinds to cast lines over a character, in a time where they would
have felt trapped. I noticed this the most when Keyes brings in Mr. Jackson,
the man from the observation car. After he recognizes Walter from somewhere,
and says that he is sure that it wasn’t Mr. Dietrichson who jumped, he leaves.
Walter walks over to the desk, and you can see the bars being cast over him as
he realizes he is that much closer to being caught. The film also uses rain,
when Phyllis comes to see Walter in his apartment the first time.
I would agree that the film only views Phyllis as
Walter would, with our view shifting as his did. Over the course of the story,
we see her develop from just a pretty face to a full on basket case. In their
first meeting, she is barely clothed. Walter is obviously distracted, and only
sees her as a beautiful, mysterious woman. As he learns about her intentions,
and gets drawn into her plans, he realizes just how cold hearted and evil she
is. She’s emotionless when talking about the murder, she acts perfectly when
she is brought in for questioning, and she threatens him when he goes to pull
out. Then, when he realizes he’s too tangled in the web, she tries to kill him.
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