Double Indemnity

Femme Fatale is a signature characteristic of Film Noir's. Phyllis, the powerful, manipulative female character in Double Indemnity is the reason Walter commits the actions he does, in the end leading him to taking part in a murder. The power of this female character in this, and other Noir films, is to take advantage of what appears at the beginning to be an innocent man. Specifically in this film, she uses her sexuality to trap him, only in the end to admit she had no feelings for him at all. It was merely a way to snag him into her scheme.

In this still above, Neff and Phyllis are in the grocery store, as they are planning the murder of her husband. Her attitude and appearance reminded me of Lynn Bracken in LA Confidential, specifically in this still of Bracken, below. 

They both look very done up and fake looking. While Bracken is covering herself up in a white hood, Phyllis is wearing sunglasses to help hide her face. They are also both wearing a fair amount of lipstick,  which stands out in both shots, and you can tell their hair has been done up.

The other dominant female character in this film is Lola, Phyllis’s stepdaughter. I think that she is used to contrast Phyllis, and shows the extremes of Phyllis’s character. Lola is what appears to be a sweet and innocent daughter who can see through Phyllis’s plans. She is also key in Walter finding out about Phyllis’s past murders, and tattles on her step mom.

At the beginning of the film during the first interaction of Phyllis and Walter, which is shown above, her appearance and the way the shot is filmed portrays her overpowering personality, but for me, I did not catch that during my first time seeing the scene. She appears in all white, wrapped in just a towel, and you can tell even from this shot that she has a plan, and knows what the future holds. She seems very confident in what she is doing, and this is a typical stereotype of femme fatale characters in film noir. They tend to have a hidden plan that will become apparent later in the film, just as Phyllis did.

Specifically in this film, the femme fatale character does not extend past the sexual part, because that is how she traps Walter. Even outside of the film noir era of film,  women  have always been stereotyped to use their sexuality to their advantage in films. This is an excellent example of this, because her character uses her beauty to convince other men to help her with her plans of murder.

Framing Pictures

this picture has the subject to the left of the frame, and she is surrounded by the bars on both sides of her, and the treehouse floor above her. the tree to the right of her also helps focus your attention to her.

the steps of the ladder as well as the siding of the ladder help to narrow down the focus to just where she is standing. there isn't much else to focus on, just the girl surrounded by the steps.

this frames the girl to the left of center, and has the wood pieces below and to the right of her. The tree in the background also helps direct your attention to her.

with the subject off center to the left and the tree house surrounding her, your eye focuses to the middle piece of wood, and then to Devin sitting off to the side, framing her within a frame.

with the fence out of focus, your eye narrows to between the two pieces, to the girl laughing off center to the left.

the center of this frame would be the middle of the tree, but since there isnt much to focus in on, it directs your attention to both faces, the one on the bottom left and the one on the top right.

the center of this picture is the house in the background, which is out of focus to direct your attention to the girls sitting side by side, on opposite sides of the frame.

the bar in the middle and the girl out of focus in the background directs your attention to both girls standing looking at each other.

with her arms being the middle of the frame, your eye follows them to the girl to the right, who is swinging on a tree.

Pictures

Long Shot

Medium Shot

Close Up

Extreme Close Up

High Angle Shot

Low Angle Shot

Depth of Field Shot

Establishing Shot

Fate Vs. Free Will

Fate vs. free will are concepts that everyone deals with in their daily life. Was an event that just happened fate? Or a long string of coincidences? In a lot of cases, I think it's more of a coincidence than fate. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, but it's not fate that it happened. It happens, because that's life. Going through life, everything isn't necessarily a coincidence. Things happen based on past experiences, and actions you take help create your future. I do think that everyone is, for the most part, in control of themselves and their futures, and your future is created based on past experiences and what you have done to work up to what will happen next, though obviously many details of your future aren't known ahead of time, and can not be determined. 

Everyone, however, is not in control of other people's lives, and since generally people cross paths and intersect with other people, some things become out of your control. For example, if you leave your house 2 minutes late, and end up missing the train you normally catch, and that train ends up crashing, that is clearly out of your control. But it is out of your control, because that is laid in the hands of other people. Is it fate? Fate is described as "The development of events outside a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power" and while i certainly agree that many things become out of one's control, a supernatural controlling it keeps me skeptical. I think that leaving your house a few minutes late is more luck than fate, and like said before, everything happens for a reason, but fate doesn't control that. 

At the end of Oedipus, it is realized that Apollo ordained Oedipus's destiny, but it was his own choice to damage his sight. I think that there is a little bit of self control in everyone's future, and your life is more a string of coincidences, and everything just happens for a reason, rather than fate. 

Favorite Movie: Mary Poppins

My favorite movie is the Disney movie, Mary Poppins. It has been one of my favorite movies since I was a kid, and to this day, I love the actress Julie Andrews, which is one of the reasons I like the movie so much. Aside from the acting, I have always had a love for musical, which contributes to my love for this movie.