How does Wilder convey the charecters and their relationships in the penultimate scene of double indemnity?

How does Wilder convey the characters and their relationship in the penultimate scene of double indemnity?

Wilder uses cinematography to convey the relationship between the two characters.  This is particularly evident when Walter is standing behind Phyllis when she is sitting down. This shows us how their relationship is because Walter seems to have his hands almost round her neck; this seems to show Phyllis as the person without power as she also seems smaller than Walter as she is sitting down. This gives us the idea that Walter is in charge of their relationship as he seems to be the bigger, more dominant force at the time. This means that their relationship could be described as being controlled by Walter at this time as Phyllis is the more vulnerable out of the two.  This also seems to make Walter appear in the light more, this makes him appear as the good character out of the two of them. However, this is not the only use of cinematography in this scene; another use of it is present when they are in the same shot as each other. This is evident especially near the end and start. It mainly shows Walter and Phyllis together in the same scene where they are talking about how they have an apparent love for each other. This gives us the idea that their relationship is unstable because when they are having a slight argument or disagreement, they are not in the same scene but when they are talking about their “love” they are in the same scene, this creates a physical barrier when they are arguing, but in this scene, it cuts fairly quickly between the two which tells us that they are unstable and that they may not always agree or like each other.

Wilder also uses many setting ideas from an expressionist mise-en-scene. This is  evident  when Walter originally walks into the room and we get a extreme long shot of it. This is more evident than due to the heavy use of shadow in that part of the scene, however, it is more evident when before he walks into the room and we can see his shadow on the wall, this gives us a feeling of mystery and relates heavily back to German expressionist cinema which also was mainly based on mystery and shadow. This shows their relationship by it being a dark and sinister relationship that involves plots and murder, this means that it is a mysterious relationship where they are trying to believe each other about everything but they may not agree or believe each other showing that this is a relationship without trust and belief in each other. Walters shadow also relates to the Freudian idea of a doppelgänger as his life when he is with Phyllis and crime could be compared to it as he has the more sinister side in which he is involved with her, this consists of murder and sin as it is behind somebody’s back, and his other life where he is an insurance salesman, these are both complete opposites to each other so work well with the doppelgänger idea.

Wilder also uses ideas from expressionist mise-en-scene again with the idea of dividing the area with sharp angles and lines. This is more evident when Walter enters as we can see behind Phyllis that there are shadows of straight lines from the venetian blinds and corners from furniture. This shows their relationship as a dangerous one as there are many sharp edges and lines involved. It is a dangerous relationship as there are many items within it that connote this, such as:- murder, crime and insurance plots. This means that they are living a dangerous life and could get into trouble at any moment.

There are many themes that are used from the noir generic signifiers. One of these is the idea of crimes of passion. This is evident all the way through as the whole story is about how a man loves a woman and how he’ll do anything for her. This shows their relationship as a crime itself and as an abnormal relationship due to numerous problems and plots within it. Another theme that is present in most film noir is the idea of deception.