Manipulated By Beauty: Body Heat vs Double Indemnity In the film noir Double Indemnity (1944) and neo-noir Body Heat (1981), two men commit adultery as they are convinced by narcissistic, money hungry, manipulating women who have premeditated the murders of their spouses. Even though both men are in different professions, Walter is an insurance man and Ned is a lawyer, they prove to be valuable assets to the femme fatales of the film’s, Phyllis and Matty. In the same way that Walter risks his freedom and friendships for a corrupted love, Ned’s world is flipped upside down as he finds out that Matty is not who she claims to be. Along with many differences that may set these two movies apart, there are two underlying themes that correlate: one is separating the boring
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Without as much caution as Walter had, Ned is manipulated into thinking that he has come up with the best plan for getting rid of their problem, her husband. With the help of his profession Matty is able to use him as a human shield, saving her from the deed she has long planned for. As the noir woman in this film Matty is perceived as a woman who will not stop at anything until she gets what she wants.
For example, in the early scene when Ned follows Matty to a bar in her town, he threatens their secret and she goes to the extreme of slapping him right across the face. Before leaving to sit somewhere else she whispers in his ear to wait outside so he can follow her home. The effectiveness of her power as the femme fatale begins in this scene as the audience is assured of who is really running the show. Even from first glance, both men seem to be the con’s ideal victim as they are presented as vulnerable, powerless and unwilling to challenge the authority of the beautifully dangerous noir female
Without as much caution as Walter had, Ned is manipulated into thinking that he has come up with the best plan for getting rid of their problem, her husband. With the help of his profession Matty is able to use him as a human shield, saving her from the deed she has long planned for. As the noir woman in this film Matty is perceived as a woman who will not stop at anything until she gets what she wants.
For example, in the early scene when Ned follows Matty to a bar in her town, he threatens their secret and she goes to the extreme of slapping him right across the face. Before leaving to sit somewhere else she whispers in his ear to wait outside so he can follow her home. The effectiveness of her power as the femme fatale begins in this scene as the audience is assured of who is really running the show. Even from first glance, both men seem to be the con’s ideal victim as they are presented as vulnerable, powerless and unwilling to challenge the authority of the beautifully dangerous noir female