FREE ESSAY ON DOUBLE INDEMNITY

DOUBLE INDEMNITY

If Double Indemnity is short on any aspect which defines a good film-noir, tension is
certainly not one of them. Director Billy Wilder manages to keep the tension as thick as
syrup through the duration of the movie, despite the fact that the audience is, from the
start, already aware of the murder that has taken place, as well as the main protagonist
Walter Neff's role in it and his impending doom. Wilder makes this clear, as Neff,
obviously mortally wounded in the opening scene, tells the entire tale in flashback after
his confession - "I killed Dietrichson - me, Walter Neff…". One of the more
interesting manners in which he does this is through Neff's relationship with his friend
and the firm's Claim Manager Burton Keyes.
The relationship between the two men is key to creating and maintaining the tension and
suspense throughout the movie. While Neff was sure he knew the system inside out, well
enough to be able to pull off the deed without getting caught, the only man he was afraid
of was none other than Keyes, whose "inner man" unerringly sniffed out false claims. 
The most obvious device that Wilder uses between Neff and Keyes is the lighting of
cigarettes/cigars. In key points throughout the film where Keyes appears to be close to
cracking the case but comes up short, he always has trouble lighting up his cigar, and
Neff lights it up with a wooden match. In the final scene, however, when Neff no longer
has things under control, Keyes reciprocates the favor.