Double Indemnity Greg Weinstein

The context behind the last picture has great impact on the rest of the movie, as this is the climatic ending. In this picture, we have Phyllis sitting on a chair with a gun under the cushion, with Walter behind her knowing everything that she has lied about. In this image, there is an interesting power play going on between the two characters as either character could really be thought of as the more powerful figure, while Phyllis is probably the more dominant due to the light. This is a classic example of film noir with the shadows covering our leads foreshadowing something bad that will surely come along. You almost get the feeling that Walter is just about to ring her neck as his hands are so close and you can feel the anger and betrayal that he feels from being set-up. And at this point for Phyllis, since she doesn't know she loves him yet, the coldness just lies on her face as she looks away with her eyes half open, working her femme fatale role. It is a real interesting look on the scene as they are both turned towards the window and the light barely shines through, creating that light on Walter's left side only, and Phyllis' face only slightly illuminated. It is just this great dynamic between the two, set up by the context as one only recently found out something about the other, and one is about to find out something about herself and the other.