Blog Post #8, Baby

In film noir, many of the male leads are weak, frustrated men. While you are watching Double Indemnity, make a mental note of Walter Neff’s characteristics. What kind of man is he? What is his relationship like with women?

At the beginning of the film Walter Neff is the opposite of what we usually see in film noir. When he first meets Phyllis he gets a little thrown off by her, but then gets right back on track. He is there strictly for business, but begins to notice small things about her that attracts him to her. The first time the idea of killing her husband comes up he finds it completely absurd and leave immediately, proving that he is strong, if he wasn't he would have fallen for her trap. 

Later, Phyllis shows up at his apartment. Here she tells him that he got the completely wrong idea and that she would never think of something that awful, even if her husband was terrible. Then, they embrace in a kiss, this is when Walter really falls for her. Even later in the film, the idea of killing her husband comes up again and this time Walter is all for it. As we can see he has become weaker, and more like what we expect from a male in Film Noir. 

In the beginning he seems to be a kind gentleman, but then his relationship with women begins to change. He becomes all consumed and that is all he cares about. So while he begins the film as someone strong and independent, he changes into someone weaker and dependent on someone else.