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Jack Vincennes in Captain Dudley Smith's house questioning him
about Rollo Tomasi in L.A. Confidential.
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| Walter Neff gives a hand to Barton Keys as he tries to puzzle out who killed Mr. Dietrichson in Double Indemnity. |
In two iconic Noir films, Double Indemnity and L.A. Confidential, masterful film work able to singularly express the power behind characters can be found. In this blog, two examples of the aforementioned scenes can be viewed and enjoyed in all their glory. In the first picture, Walter Neff is seen offering a lit match to his boss, Barton Keys, to light his cigar. A common gesture throughout the movie, this instance is significant because of the circumstances behind the scene, and the power struggle is shown in the way the camera was worked. Unknown to Barton Keys, Walter Neff has committed murder and tax fraud, killing the husband of his new love, Phyllis Dietrichson and is now hoping to collect the money and get away with Phyllis. Barton Keys is in charge of identifying and charging tax fraud and is currently in the process of determining what has happened. At this point, Walter Neff is in control, with no signs pointing to his guilt, he is seen relaxed. However at the same time, the camera is angled up from an area below the actors with Barton Keys sitting down and Walter Neff standing. With the initial height difference and the addition of the camera angle, Walter Neff appears to tower over his boss, making Barton Keys all but insignificant. From the camera angle and set up of the frame alone, his current power over the situation is clear even though this power struggle is unknown to Barton Keys at this time. Similarly, in the clip from L.A. Confidential, Jack Vincennes is seen sitting down with the camera behind him angled up at his boss, Dudley Smith. Once again, there is a power struggle shown in the picture, created by the set up of the scene and the camera angle. In the case of the scene from L.A. Confidential, Jack Vincennes is following up on a murder case he believes in unsolved. Coming upon a key piece of information, he brings the news to his boss, Dudley Smith, in hope of uncovering more facts. However, it turns out that Dudley Smith is in fact behind the incorrectly solved murder, and the information revealed by Jack Vincennes ultimately leads to Dudley Smith murdering Jack Vincennes as well. Very similarly paralleled to the picture from Double Indemnity, the man sitting down, or the man lacking power in the current situation, is not yet aware of any power struggle. Ignorant to the involvement of the other men in the picture, Jack Vincennes and Barton Keys are both relaxed in the picture, but from the figures seemingly towering over them, it becomes clear to the viewer that there is a power dynamic in play. The man standing, towering above, is in control and is more aware of the situation brought to them than is known by the characters. These two pictures are examples of a film makers successful attempt to show this power dynamic and the underlying intricacies without blatantly stating them in the movie, and in both cases, this is done very well.
I find it interesting that the two frames you chose are pretty similar in setup. As you mentioned, I also noticed how the directors used height, stance, and the camera angle to signify authority. When looking at the frames, did you notice that the match and Dudley's face were the focal points? I think the directors chose those focal points to further emphasize the superiority we feel that Walter and Dudley possess.
ReplyDeleteGood job relating these photos through the power dynamic! You did a good job of finding two photos that shared a camera angle and a common theme. You also did a good job explaining the different scenes in how they portray the movie. When writing this, did you think about the lighting on the characters faces? For both Dudley and Neff, only have of their face is illuminated leaving the other half in the shadow. This shows how each of them have a dark side, not visible to the audience.
ReplyDeleteI like how you compared two very similar stills. The camera work in each is practically the same, and the context is also: the subject is guilty and trying not to show it. Another thing I found interesting is that Dudley and Neff are on the line of thirds, do you think this makes them the focal points? If so, what could that signify about each? I believe this makes Keyes even more insignificant. The scene is made to focus on the expressions of Neff. An incredible amount of tension is created by having the audience watching his every move, expecting him to slip up. This is an example of dramatic irony because we, the audience, know what he did, while Keyes is clueless trying to catch up to him. Alternatively, it is unknown to the audience that Dudley is the man behind the Nite Owl killings. Do you think this still could be suggesting to the audience that he did it?
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