Double Indemnity and LA Confidential Still Shot Analysis

 

In film noir, women are often shown as a dangerous figure much differently compared to men. Instead of being direct and macho, women often use their sexuality and female charm in order to get what they desire. These characteristics adheres to the film Double Indemnity and LA Confidential  as evident in the relationship between the female protagonists, Phyllis Dietrichson and Lynn Bracken, and their male counter part such as Walter Neff and Edmund Exley for example. In Double Indemnity, both Phyllis and Walter try to gain power over the other.  For example, in this shot, we see Phyllis using her sexual appeal to manipulate Walter not only to gain power over him, but to convince him of taking part of a murder plot. At the same time, a low camera angle shows Phyllis high up on a staircase, with Walter looking up at her. These two elements put together put Phyllis in a power position over Walter, and represents her dominance in the murder plot for the course of the film. Her beauty is something she uses to her advantage to keep Walter entrapped in her love in order to successfully carry out her idea for the murder. Almost only a minute after the Walter had met Phyllis he said “I was thinking about that dame upstairs and the way she had looked at me.” His thoughts are very clear in showing how quickly Phyllis’s sexual appeal got to Walter’s head, making him weak and easy for Phyllis to manipulate.The same concept applies in LA Confidential; in this scene, Edmund Exley is trying to find evidence for the Nite Ow case by questioning Lynn Bracken. Even though Edmund Exley is positioned higher than Lynn Bracken in order to demonstrate dominance, Lynn Bracken actually holds the power in this scene. The reason why she holds the power is because of her feminine charm and sexual appeal. Since she received plastic surgery to look like Veronica Lake, she used her beauty in order to gain the upper hand on Edmund. Thus we see the confidence in Lynn Bracken as she stares at Edmund Exley. As a result, in this scene, Lynn Bracken successfully seduces Edmund Exley in order for him to take part in a scandal for Hush-Hush magazine.