Blog #4

Double Indemnity serves as a staple of film noir, a model complete with all the tropes of the genre that other films can refer to while offering their own unique take on the style. It’s the kind of picture that comes to mind when envisioning the genre, full of atmospheric black and white shots of city landscapes, hard-boiled detectives and the charming yet manipulative figure of the femme fatal. Other films, such as Devil in a Blue Dress and Chinatown borrowed from Double Indemnity, using the stereotypes of the genre as foundation but adding unique takes to tell the stories they want to tell. For example, Devil in a Blue Dress tells the conventional noir story through an African American lens, leading the protagonist through the detective’s journey in a system that works against him. It has contains all the elements of the genre, such as the grim atmosphere and the femme fatal character, but adds to the story with unique narrative and message about minority life in Los Angeles. Chinatown does the same, and brings its own twist to the genre by setting the story thirty years in the future. It adapts the formula to coincide with modernity, and replaces gritty black and white colors to introduce a new perspective of a well- established formula. The city of Los Angeles serves as the central antagonist of both films, doing whatever it can to bring about the failure of the main characters. The corrupt mayoral candidates of the city send men after Denzel Washington’s character to keep their scandals secret, and Jack Nicholson’s Jake Gittes works alone as he tries to expose the fraudulent water business set on destroying the town. The city serves as a corporation in both cases, ignoring the wellbeing of its citizens to serve the self interests of crooked elites. Both Washington and Nicholson seek to bring justice to their communities, and try to uncover the darkness of their leadership in order to create a better city for the people.