The scene opens with a mid-shot of Phyllis looking towards Walter. As a genre convention of film noir, lighting is often used to create meaning. In the opening shot the shadow of Phyllis makes it appear as if there is two of her, the real life her wearing white and acting innocent through figure expression and the shadow her, a dark and sinister binary opposition. As Phyllis sits in the chair, she appears to look relaxed and has very open body language, however, as she looks at her hands, she appears to look disinterested, another fake attribute of Phyllis' personality. Walter's body language is completely the opposite, it is confident and natural. In the shot of both of them talking to each other, via body language, it seems that Walter should be the main and dominant character of the relationship between them, however, with the way that Phyllis sits on the chair, appearing disinterested, it's clear that she has a lot of control over Walter - and also a generally very controlling character. As Phyllis' ankle is in the center of the frame, her anklet is the center of the audience's and Walters attention. The ankle bracelet in film noir films signify a woman with lose morals and someone with a fake personality.
As Walter begins to leave, Phyllis and Walter begin to talk about speed limits of the city. As Double Indemnity was in the film era of the Hayes code, Raymond Chandler had to create clever metaphors to give the impression that both characters are "driven" by their sexual desire towards each other. As Walter walks away, the bars of light created by the venetian blinds across Walters back signify prison bars. About how Walter is trapped by his desire for Phyllis and how he's already under her vindictive spell.
As the scene changes to Walter in his car with an over dubbed narration, he compares the smell of honeysuckle of murder. This could be a metaphor for Phyllis, something that appears so sweet and innocent that actually had a sinister undertone. It could also act as a metaphor for the setting. Despite the film's sunny LA setting and how pretty the honeysuckle seems, the idea of murder can come from anywhere - and can come from anyone.
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