Improving your noir essay

How far are the Style and Representations of Gender in Double Indemnity determined by the Film’s Context of Production?

Key areas for discussion Typical genre features in evidence: cynical atmosphere, crime story, sex as a motive, character archetypes, etc Period (context): post depression era, wartime, Hays code, etc Style: Chiaroscuro lighting, hard-boiled dialogue, iconography, Neff’s perspective, etc.

What the examiner will be looking for: Narrative: what the film considers an equilibrium (i.e. patriarchal order restored), the inevitability of fate, male perspective, flashback structure, narrative tropes, etc. Genre characteristics Representation (certainly gender but also including sexuality and ethnicity)

Messages and Values Gender representation The female who destroys the family unit is to be punished Male relationships are stronger than sexual lust Male authority restored at the end The male viewpoint is presented as natural The rule of ‘natural law’ The good are rewarded Order is restored The guilty are punished Confession cleans the soul

‘Phyllis shows how women were stronger in this period and this is because of the war and women becoming stronger’ The femme fatale archetype represents a contemporary male fear of a powerful woman. During wartime, many women had to take on work traditionally performed by men and this came as a shock to some returning soldiers. The femme fatale is a fictionalised representation of this male fear, literally destroying the traditional family unit through murder. This can be seen where Phyllis…

“Neff is able to shoot Phyllis, which shows that men are stronger.” Ultimately, Phyllis is unable to fire a second shot at Neff, claiming that she has suddenly fallen in love with him. To a modern audience, this seems unlikely, given her scheming and deviousness throughout. The scene has an air of being tagged on to fit in with the Hays code and show that the guilty must be punished. Alternatively, it can be interpreted as a show of moral weakness on her part: Neff knows that they cannot get away with it and takes control of their punishment, putting him back on the moral high ground. His warning to Zechetti and confession support this. Perhaps this represents the ‘ambitious woman put in her place’ by a 1940s male dominated society. Certainly, Hollywood was still very much male dominated.

“In Double Indemnity, Phyllis is introduced using a male gaze shot” Wilder follows genre convention by introducing his femme fatale with the typical ‘male gaze’ shot. She is seen from below, only partly covered. As she descends the stairs, we linger over her ankles. We are asked to look at her in the same way Neff does – as a sex object. This underlines the masculine viewpoint of these films. The shot is typical of film noir. It is also used in Tay Garnett’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, for example. The shot shows that classic noir ideology is male dominated and assumes a male perspective.

Pairs

Still from a deleted scene Task: Select a paragraph where your writing is in need of improvement 1.Redraft the paragraph to gain marks according to the criteria 2.Swap with your partner to assess where your redrafted paragraph now falls in the criteria

All the witnesses have now left, except Keyes, who stands, shocked and tragic, beyond the door. The guard goes to him and touches his arm, indicating to him that he must leave. Keyes glances for the last time towards the gas chamber and slowly moves to go out. E-12 CORRIDOR OUTSIDE THE DEATH CHAMBER CAMERA SHOOTING IN THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR AT KEYES, who is just turning to leave. Keyes comes slowly out into the dark, narrow corridor. His hat is on his head now, his overcoat is pulled around him loosely. He walks like an old man. He takes eight or ten steps, then mechanically reaches a cigar out of his vest pocket and puts it in his mouth. His hands, in the now familiar gesture, begin to pat his pockets for matches. Suddenly he stops, with a look of horror on his face. He stands rigid, pressing a hand against his heart. He takes the cigar out of his mouth and goes slowly on towards the door, CAMERA PANNING with him. When he has almost reached the door, the guard stationed there throws it wide, and a blaze of sunlight comes in from the prison yard outside. Keyes slowly walks out into the sunshine. stiffly, his head bent, a forlorn and lonely man. FADE OUT: THE END