Double Indemnity

Film noir literally means "black film." As you are watching the film, keep track of all the elements in the picture that seem dark or depresssing. Think about the character, setting, and storyline.

In the 1944 film Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder, elements of French noir give this film a classic theme. The plot is about an insurance representative, Walter Neff, goes to see one of his clients who is overdue on renewing his automobile insurance. Once he is at his client’s house, he meets the man's wife, Phyllis Dietrichson, whom he starts to fall for. She mentions how she wants to look into accident insurance, in case her husband has an “accident” while working on the oil rig. Neff thinks she wants to stage her husband’s death as an “accident” to receive money from his insurance policy.

This film is shot entirely in black and white with low-key lighting, a classic element of film noir. The sharp light and dark shadows that arise from specifically placed lights give the film a mysterious feeling. Another classic element of film noir that is shown in Double Indemnity is when Neff returns to Mrs. Dietrichson’s house at the end of the film. She is sitting in her chair and the venetian blinds on the window cast specific shadows onto the wall behind her. The characters also smoke throughout the entire film, which is a reoccurring element in French noir movies. Double Indemnity is also a crime/murder mystery/private eye film, one element that all of the films that are classified French Noirs are centered around. This film also has a voice over throughout and is shown in flashbacks, an element that adds to the private-eye-esque of it.

Double Indemnity has a pretty dark storyline as well. Mrs. Dietrichson essentially wants to get as much money off of her husband as she can. By taking out an accident insurance policy on her husband, if he were to die by accident, she would be the beneficiary of the policy. The money would then be hers. All along, she had been thinking about how she would take out this policy. But in the beginning, Walter truly sought to only renew the Dietrichson's automobile insurance. As the story goes on, it ends up being Walter who comes up with the entire plan to kill Mr. Dietrichson and stage his death to look like he accidentally fell off of the train. All of the dark acts actually take place in the dark. Literally. It all happens at night. Not to mention the film is in black and white. Which makes it extra dark. 

So with all of the dark-dark-ness, the murder, the sneakiness of the plot, and the cold, uncaring femme fatale, Double Indemnity is a classic French noir "black" film. 

Witchflix

3 WITCHES

The three witch sisters in Macbeth are the most supernatural beings in the play. Some would even go as far as to say that they are even the most evil. But between giving out prophecies and haunting people, they like to sit on the couch and watch the tellybox, just like everyone else. If you're into scary movies, boy do they have great recommendations for you. But be careful; the shows may just make you want to kill your best friend.

Their first recommendation, if you're looking for a television series, is American Horror Story. This series currently has 3 seasons on Netflix, with the most current season still playing on FX. "Exploring humankind's unsettling capacity for evil, this darkly twisted drama plays upon the power of supernatural fears and everyday horrors." Each episode is like creepy onto of creepy. The weird sisters would recommend this series because it explores how people and humans deal with seeing and experiencing supernatural things. Sometimes, certain occurrences bring out the person someone really is and other times it can completely break a person down.


The witches' next recommendation is for The Blair Witch Project. "Three student filmmakers march into the woods to make a documentary about a fabled witch credited with a string of murders dating back 200 years ago." This documentary-style movie will make you feel the presence of the horror that the characters went through. Obviously, the witches would choose this movie because the characters think they are going to mock a witch that never actually existed or committed the murders that happened in the past. Rule number 1: Never mock a witch. This movie extends the idea of the supernatural, specifically witches, that deal with murders, evil and prophecies, all of witch are components of the roles the weird sisters play in Macbeth.


Perfect Sisters is sort of different from the category of the other shows the three witches would most likely recommend. "Based on a real-life incident, two sisters manage to cover up the murder of their mother but their story unravels when they tell their friends." This movie steps back a little from the horror/thriller but still infuses it with mystery. The witches pick this one also because of the relationship between the two sisters, dealing with a secret and dealing with the murder of their mother. In Macbeth, the witches are referred to as "weird sisters," but Shakespeare doesn't elaborate any further on their relationship. We could learn more about the relationship between the witches from this recommendation.


Another choice the three weird sisters recommend is Oculus. Personally, I have seen (more like forced to see) this movie and it is creeeeeepy. "Now young adults, siblings Tim and Kaylie are still trying to recover from -- and get to the bottom of -- their parents' deaths more than a decade ago." I won't spoil it, but let's just say there is a mirror involved. With that as part of the context, the witches would probably recommend this movie because the mirror relates to the theme of appearance vs. reality. Some people may see one thing when they look in the mirror; others may see something completely different. This recommendation would help readers understand how the presence of the witches is only known by some. Macbeth knew he saw them. Banquo was unsure of whether or not he saw them.  


Lastly, if you didn't like the sound of any of the previous shows the witches recommended, The Awakening may be one you could handle. "A haunted boarding school calls on Florence Cathcart, who disproves hoaxes for a living. But the strange place leads Cathcart to question rationality." More mystery than horror, this movie is about how occurrences, such as people seeing ghosts and objects moving without being touched, can be questioned and how not everything has a rational answer. In Macbeth, Macbeth himself questions reality, especially when he thinks he sees the ghost of Banquo. This last recommendation the witches may have allows us to look at the themes of appearance vs. reality and the supernatural.


So if you're ever in the mood to be thoroughly scared, just take into account a recommendation from the three witches. But make sure you're ready, because things can't be unseen.