‘Don't you know that you're toxic?’: Twisted Romance in Double Indemnity by Samantha

Samantha Shapard

Noir Film and Novel

Michael Sinowitz

October 6, 2017

‘Don't you know that you're toxic?’: Twisted Romance in Double Indemnity

“Goodbye, baby,” Walter Neff says right before he shoots Phyllis in the chest towards the end of the film Double Indemnity. That doesn’t sound like love, does it? However, it’s easy to view the film Double Indemnity in the wrong way - falsely thinking that Phyllis and Neff truly did care for one another throughout the movie, and that it was only circumstance that tore them apart. However, when viewing Double Indemnity, it’s crucial to realize that Neff and Phyllis are not even remotely in love with one another, and never were. The lack of love is what allows the darker themes of individualism and revenge to really flourish. Neff and Phyllis are both using one another as a way to get back at something - Neff wants to get back at the insurance system, and Phyllis wants to punish her husband and his daughter for her mistreatment. The two’s relationship isn’t romantic, but is instead a relationship of convenience, as each knows that the other will help them achieve their selfish goals. The pair’s supposedly romantic scenes are not even treated romantically by filmmakers, with every kiss seeming forced and lustful rather than loving. Viewing Double Indemnity in a false, romantic context perpetuates a warped view of what love is which permeates into the culture of today, where people can look at two people who only care about themselves and claim that’s what love is.

A key scene to understanding the lack of love in the film is when Phyllis and Neff first kiss one another. Typically, a kiss is a very personal and dreamy affair. As a movie audience, we expect to see soft lighting, hear pretty music, and have the camera zoomed in so we can really see the pair’s faces. However, Double Indemnity lets us down on all these accounts. The kiss seems sudden, stark, and harsh. Neff grabs Phyllis and crashes their lips together lustfully, right after the two were engaged in a bickering banter in which Phyllis was obviously trying to guilt trip him. His hands dig into her shoulders possessively, and he practically lifts her up off the ground in order to press his lips into hers. No music plays, and all that can be heard is the sound of rain outside the window, which makes the kiss seem almost melancholic. The shot lingers on a medium shot just long enough to make the audience feel uncomfortable; making them feel like outside observers to a private affair. When the camera does change to a close-up of the pair’s faces, it’s too late, and the soft filter only makes the violent kiss feel more eerie.

What a violent kiss! Note the way he grabs her shoulder.

Interestingly, the camera shot never includes the faces of both Neff and Phyllis at the same time while they kiss, instead shifting between over-the-shoulder shots for both people, making the kiss seem one-sided on both sides, a strange oxymoron. While it would have been easy to do a close-up shot with both of the pair in profile view, the angle distinctively only ever includes the expressions of one person, forcing the audience to view the two as separate entities even though they’re together. This strongly implies the lack of romance between them. They aren’t even really connected to one another while they’re kissing, much less through the rest of the movie.

Here, we only see Neff's face.

And here, we only see Phyllis'!

The context of the movie before and after the kiss matters immensely as well. Before Neff roughly grabs Phyllis to kiss her, the two are having a strained conversation about whether Neff really will help Phyllis with her murderous plot. The dialogue is sharp and guilt-tripping on both sides, with Phyllis loudly protesting how poorly her husband treats her, and Neff saying that she should just leave his house. The conversation doesn’t have any romantic build up, and when the kiss happens, it seems sudden and just as manipulative as the conversation the two were having. The same lack of romance persists after the kiss. Despite the mumbled line, “I’m crazy about you, baby,” from Neff, he refuses Phyllis’ advances for another kiss in favor of getting the two of them some bourbon. Much like in The Postman Always Rings Twice, in which Frank and Cora have to get drunk in order to feel any sort of love towards one another, Neff and Phyllis are using alcohol as a way to connect, which shows that they are unable to connect in any other, more healthy way.

But why does any of this matter? Why should anyone care about whether Phyllis and Neff were in love or not? After all, nothing will change the plot of the movie or its tragic ending. However, the way that you view the fim provides crucial insight into the warped view of love that society now holds. People have become desensitized to toxic relationships to the point where they can view what Phyllis and Neff have as love instead of what it really is - poorly disguised lust and selfishness. The film doesn’t try to hide the fact that Phyllis and Neff have a toxic relationship, but it leaves it ambiguous as to if it’s secretly romantic. By deciding that yes, it is, viewers are displaying the skewed view of relationships that has become more and more prevalent as time goes on. As a culture, people are inclined to ignore the negative parts of relationships because they want to keep looking through their rose-colored glasses. However, this demeans true romance - when two people legitimately care about one another and want to protect the other person. Neff and Phyllis are driven only by their own greed, culminating when Neff shoots Phyllis towards the end of the movie. If he really did love her, he would never be able to murder her, but he shows no concern for her at all when he shoots her. The two were only forced to stay together after they’d both gotten their revenge because they were on the ‘trolley car’ going ‘straight down the line’, not out of any real love. By mistaking the filmmakers intentions and viewing the pair as romantic lovers, the audience winds up legitimizing these dangerous relationships instead of coming to the intended realization that Neff and Phyllis were incredibly bad for one another.

There's no perfect version of the clip on YouTube, but this comes close! Starts at 2:39

EXTRAS:

This parody of Double Indemnity is so funny and I highly recommend that you watch it! It looks long, but it's worth it!

Inspiration for my title: