Question 4: In your mind, are there any heroes in Double Indemnity? If so, who?
Double Indemnity is an iconic example of classic film noir. Film noir, as a genre, focuses on crime dramas and have a cynical tone. Since Double Indemnity epitomizes this genre, it makes sense that there is no true hero in the movie.
The main characters of the film are Walter and Phyllis. At the beginning of the movie, Walter appears to be a heroic figure. He is the protagonist and he is a handsome, stand-up insurance salesman. But, when Phyllis' femme fatale persona is introduced, we quickly see that if anything, Walter is an anti-hero. The weak-willed Walter easily falls prey to Phyllis' seduction and the two hatch a gruesome plan to kill Phyllis' husband. But we cannot cite Phyllis as the only reason that Walter's morals go south; he, himself, comes up with a significant amount of the murderous plan. He proves to be a natural at deception and crime, definitely not a hero.
There are really only a few 'good' characters in the movie, Keyes being the most notable. Keyes is Walter's friend and colleague at the insurance firm. He is said to be an amazing claims adjustor, although that isn't terribly heroic. Unlike Walter, Keyes lacks the physicality of a hero. He is short, middle-aged, and feeble looking. It is only because of Keye's cleverness and determination that Walter and Phyllis' carefully concocted story begins to unravel. Keyes does eventually cause justice to be served, it is only indirectly. He falsely assumes that Phyllis' step-daughter's boyfriend was an accomplice in the murder, which sets in motion the downfall of Phyllis and Walter, but that specific outcome was unintentional. In a way he 'saves the day' by resolving the murder, but mostly by accident, which is why although I do consider Keyes to be a 'good' character, I do not consider him to be a hero in Double Indemnity. The beauty of Double Indemnity is that the plot is all the more realistic and sinister for the fact that a hero is not necessary for actions to be resolved. It's as if the anti-heros were bound to fail regardless.
Great blog post Mitra! I agree with you on a lot of this, especially your analysis of Walter's character. While he is definitely the protagonist of this story, he's anything but a hero. Same with Keye's character, although I would classify his "good" personality as traits of a hero. His intentions are pure and he gets a sick feeling inside of him whenever he senses something illegal is going down. I think this is enough to characterize him as a hero, even if accuses the wrong person. Overall, great blog post!
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