Review of Double Indemnity (1973) by Tim K — 23 Oct 2013

At first I didn't get the hype. I liked the atmosphere of Sunset Boulevard and the premise, but something got in the way of me really appreciating my first sit down with a Billy Wilder film. I heard this was better though, perhaps his best.

So I started watching and I couldn't believe the horrible voiceover that tediously explains the weather and scent of each location and the expectation of the viewers suspension of disbelief when Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson give in to their emotions and start plotting the death of a seemingly innocent man in the first or second scene they're together in.

Then when the backstory comes to an end and the thriller comes out, it becomes more believable, more entertaining and human. It's hard to picture Walter Neff so easily manipulated into killing a man he doesn't know - the characterization just isn't there - but towards the end it's so easy to sympathize for him. Not the most emotionally convincing film, but certainly a solid thriller and widely regarded as one of (if not the best) thrillers of all time.