The victim hero is a smart man that has his wits about himself but somehow although he is headstrong is leaded in by the “femme fatale”. The victim hero is usually the person that is doing something for a woman and it ends up getting highly confused and he finds himself in a situation that he cannot cope with. The victim hero is a respectable man which shows thought the clothes that he wears. He wears a suit which suits his personality of respectable but also usually has something to do with his job something that involves good appearance such as a salesman. “Double Indemnity” shows this in the victim hero called Walter Neff. He is a very respectable man in this play but falls into the “femme fatales” hands and he ends up doing something all for nothing. Walter Neff wears the typical victim heroes costume by wearing a suit showing that before he got involved with the “femme fatale” he was respectable at some point in his life.
However, the character that seems to be the real hero in the film noir genre is known as the seeker hero. The seeker hero usually knows the victim hero quite well in these films and ends up being the real hero by finding out what the “femme fatale” lead the victim hero to do. The seeker hero is wise character which knows all the tricks of the trade and knows the game of business very well. The seeker hero wears a suit showing he is decent man. His suit is tight fitting but yet his clothing style is coordinated. Barton Keyes is the seeker hero in “Double Indemnity” but he is a rebellious seeker hero. He is also the character that manages to resist the “femme fatale because of his headstrong ways. He is wears a tight suit but does not wear the waistcoat to go with it showing a rebel side of him also in this film he is very rebellious to his boss and always does what he wants, not what anybody else says. Also, he is a headstrong character and does not go by the rules as he is prepared to investigate things by himself with no supervision. His clothing style was also casual taking in to account of the time that this movie was made which means everybody wore that type of clothing showing that he is just another man and because he has a good job it does not make him any different from others around him.
Also, there is another character put into this genre so it is not so gloomy and morbid. This character is the nurturing female who takes the tension and suspense away from the play just for a few vital minutes. The nurturing female is the opposite of the “femme fatale” so there is contrast in this film which all film noir must have some form of contrast between characters. Lola is the character that brings comfort to “double indemnity”. She wears a light comfortable dress which represents her character of being light and easy. When Lola is in the film it is the only time that it is day not night showing contrast of good and evil between Lola and Phillis.
On the over hand, film noir uses other stereotypical conventions such as the way the film is told and point of view it is from. There are many conventions that are to do with the narrative side. The most popular is the voice over technique which is where the story is being told by someone which is usually the victim hero. “Double Indemnity” is no exception this story is told from Walter Neff’s point of view and he is looking back on what he has done and realises that he has gained nothing for committing murder for a women. The style that Walter tells the story is like a confession as he is taping what he is saying for Barton Keyes benefit:
“Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money and for a woman.”
Also, the story that Walter tells with the voice over he does is told in first person which is something else that film noir always seem to have in it. The film noir genre always seems to be told from the victim heroes’ point of view:
“I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it?”
This gives the audience to experience how the victim hero was feeling and how he reacted to situations differently and it also gave the story more meaning to it seeing it through Walter’s eyes.
However, the narrative conventions don’t just help tell the story they are actually part of it such as the use of flashbacks which makes the audience active when watching this film. It also means that they have to keep watching this film otherwise it will confuse you by using these flashbacks. Also the use of dialogue in this film is important. It is very fast and clever in some ways. They use methods to get the point of sexual conversation across because at the time this film was made there were certain legislations. This film got around these by using clever wording and playing on theses words such as the famous phrase “Straight down the line,” is a clever pun on the way that Mr. Dietrichson will die in this play. The dialogue they use that is very clever is when Walter refers to sexual content to Phillis:
“Neff: Yeah, I was. But I'm sort of getting over the idea, if you know what I mean.
Phyllis: There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff, 45 miles an hour.
Neff: How fast was I going, Officer?
Phyllis: I'd say around 90.
Neff: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.
Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.
Neff: Suppose it doesn't take.
Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles.
Neff: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.
Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.
Neff: That tears it”
However, there are methods in these films that are to do with style of the film and they usually represent meaning in some way or form. There are many stylistic conventions in this film that are used for great effect in this film. The most popular stylistic convention which is used in old and modern film noir is the Venetian blinds. These are used to symbolize a number of things such as the though of good versus evil as they let in light but they can also keep out the light and these blinds change accordingly to the characters positions. They also make a very powerful effect of bars almost like the ones in prison and they usually put this effect on the character that has done or I about to do something that they will later regret. Mirrors are also another stylistic convention they are not always referred to as objects sometimes they are just referred to as a sign of reflection and looking back at your self but there is usually some reference to a mirror. A mirror also always you to see the true person and this is used in “Double Indemnity” as Phillis stands in front of a mirror she says:
“”Hope I’ve got my face on straight,”
This shows that the mirror always you to see the true person and in this case Phillis almost tells you that she acts differently depending on the situations that she’s involved with. Stairways are also put into film noir quit a lot because these allow symbolization of power. The person at the top is powerful and the person at the bottom is looking up at the dominant character. The staircase convention is used right at the start of “Double Indemnity” as Phillis stands at the top showing her powerful side and Walter is at the bottom looking up at her as he gets lured into her trap.
“Double Indemnity” is classic example of film noir a it has all the conventions of the genre and all the major characters and styles that film noir needs. I fell that double indemnity is a good example of film noir and really shows what film noir should be like. Film noir is a clever genre and always seems to leave things for your own imagination and the story lines in film noir keep you interested. The style of film noir is unique to any other film as there is so many symbolic convections which adds to the tension and the idea of the genre film noir.
