How does Wilder convey the characters and their relationship 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 expressionist mise-en-scene in the form of a cigarette, a gun and the use of doorways; these all show different relationships between the characters. The doorway is particularly evident at the beginning of the shot; before Walter first walks into the room we see his shadow on the wall, near the doorway. This creates tension as you can’t see his facial expression and so you can’t see the relationship between him and the femme fatale. The gun is only used near the end of the scene; this shows a bad relationship between the characters. The bad relationship is particularly evident when the femme fatale begs for forgiveness and acts as though she is in love with Walter. However Walter does not believe her and shoots her. All of these objects show different relationships between the characters therefore they show a relationship that changes throughout the scene until Walter believes the femme fatale deserves to die and she believes she is in love with Walter.

Wilder uses lighting to show relationships, and how they change. This is particularly evident when Walter is standing by the window and shuts the blinds as this puts him in the dark and shows he is not the kind man you would expect a hero to be because he also has a dark side. However the femme fatale is left in the light showing she only does what she believes is right, the light also makes her seem innocent and undeserving of her death. Also when Walter closes the blinds we hear a shot, this could be a way of showing both light and life fading away, as both Walter and the femme fatale both are shot after the light has left the room. It is important that the light leaves when the first shot is taken as it shows a change in relationship between characters and also shows that the relationship is not what it seems to be.

Wilder uses costume to show the characters in more detail. This is particularly evident by the long white clothing the femme fatale is show as pure and vulnerable, however the clothing is something that the femme fatale hides behind (really she is manipulative and shoots Walter). However Walter wears a suit showing he has power and this is not something to hide behind because he takes the gun of the femme fatale and kills her with two shots. This creates higher power for Walter over the femme fatale and shows a relationship that is dominated by Walter. The hero having power over the femme fatale is a common occurrence in the noir film genre, as it shows that as much as the woman flirts and manipulates the man, he will still have the larger amount of power and dominance.

Wilder uses high angle and low angle shots to create dominance and show the relationship between the two characters. The hero (Walter) is always higher up that the femme fatale. This is particularly evident when Walter first walks in the room he is stood up and the femme fatale is sitting down therefore he is higher up and has dominance. This is carried on when Walter sits down as he sits on the arm of the chair and so is still higher up and has dominance, the only time this was changed is when Walter is shot, as the femme fatale has dominance as she stands up. The dominance then is the same when the two characters hug as they are the same height and so both have as much dominance as each other; this shows the relationship is equal.

Wilder uses camera shots to show relationships. An over the shoulder shot is used to show both characters together and their reactions to what each other say. This shows the relationship between characters and their emotions between each other. Also close ups of both characters faces are used to show the emotions of the characters and what they believe at certain points in the film. During most of the close ups of the femme fatale she is smoking and seems very laid back and relaxed showing she believes she has dominance and until she is shot she still believes she controls the situation. However Walter is dominant through his stance and the low angle shots used to show he is the more dominant as the hero (over the femme fatale). This shows a higher power in the relationship for the hero which is a common thing to happen in a film noir.