“Love at First Sight” in film noir…except it’s not actually love.

Hard-boiled detective, the femme fatale, a mystery waiting to unfold, a shocking twist - these are all familiar conventions of the noir genre, what makes a movie noir. However, I’d like to add one more trope to this list: ‘Love at First Sight’. Whether it be an investigator falling for a running mistress or a retired veteran heads over heels for a circus sharp-shooter - they all find themselves completely smitten with the woman after a single glance. “Laura” (1944) and “Double Indemnity” (1944) are no exceptions; both feature a protagonist who falls in love within the first encounter - the former didn’t even have to meet the love interest to do so. However, a closer examination of these two films will introduce the idea that ‘Love at First Sight’ in film noirs is not love but rather a feeling of lust and desire to possess a woman. 

"Laura", 1944

“Double Indemnity” introduced us to a thrilling ride of murder, lies, and love - as the film showcased and tried to convince the audience that everything happened, happened because the protagonist fell in love with the femme fatale. However, I’d argue the opposite. Walter Neff is an insurance salesman who, on a typical day, pays Mr.Dietrichson a visit to discuss business and meets his wife instead. His (and ours) first impression of Mrs.Dietrichson can only be described as alluring. In their first meeting, we hear her voice even before seeing her, creating a sense of enigma and anticipation. Once the characters (Neff and Dietrichson’s housemaid) look up, a wide shot is used to display the staircase’s railing and a glimpse of Mrs.Dietrichson. Even after another cut, we have yet to see this woman’s face - so the moment she slowly steps out into the light, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, Walter Neff, along with the audience, is instantly hooked. This can be seen on Walter’s face when the camera cuts back to show his reaction, the smug grin and slight eyebrow raise says it all. This is the moment that could be reasoned as Neff falling in love with Mrs. Dietrichson at first glance as he was immediately infatuated with her in his narration: “I was thinking about that dame upstairs and the way that she looked at me. And I want to see her again, close.”. Though, They have a little back and forth, with Walter mentioning how she’s “not fully covered”. This is the first indication that he does not care for anything but the fact that she’s not properly clothed at the moment, and the look in his eyes can instead be understood as lust at first sight.  

Neff and Mrs. Dietrichson first meeting, "Double Indemnity", 1944

This would not be how I imagined “love at first sight” like, as all the camerawork mentioned was used purposely to highlight Phyllis’ sex appeal and not who she is as a character or person, thus making it difficult for me to believe that Neff is attracted to her beyond physical appearance. Additionally, he flirts with her despite knowing she’s a married woman and barely knowing her personality - which further proves that he is just interested in her looks and nothing more. 

Moving on to “Laura”, which is a very different case compared to “Double Indemnity” but still falls under the category of supposedly “love at first sight”. The premise of “Laura” surrounds the murder of Laura Hunt, and we follow the investigation of Detective Mark. The problem with the argument that Mark fell for Laura at first sight is tricky because he supposedly fell for her before they even met. The female protagonist is “dead” for ⅔ of the movie, all we see of Laura are flashbacks told through the words of Waldo Lydecker, so how the audience views her is also how Mark views her. We don’t learn any information about the lady ourselves, only through a personal narrative that would undoubtedly shape our impression of Laura in a certain way. This goes without saying for Detective Mark. He has to know more about the victim, that’s a part of his job - which makes his character a complete binary opposite compared to Walter Neff because Mark actually had an idea who Laura was as a person first before falling for her. 

However, I still firmly believe that Mark and Laura’s relationship is another depiction of what “love at first sight” is supposed to look like but failed to do so as the entire plot surrounding the idea that Mark fell in love with a dead woman. When inside Laura’s apartment to search for clues regarding her murder, his reaction to a portrait of her was simply: “Not bad.” However, later on, the way he looks at the painting and the romantic non-diegetic score does little to hide his infatuation with Laura. When Mark turns around, facing the camera to take off his rain-soaking coat - an amazing close-up shot shows his annoyed facial expression, almost as if irritated with himself for caring about a dead person, while Laura’s portrait can still be seen over his right shoulder. This scene can be read as the start of his desire for her, as the painting of Laura peers down on him, and he tries to ignore the feelings. 

“You better watch out, McPherson, or you’ll end up in the psychiatric ward. I don’t think they’ve ever had a patient who fell in love with a corpse.” These are the words of Waldo after he finds out Mark has already put in a bid to buy Laura’s portrait. If a character in the film can acknowledge how peculiar it is for a police detective to fall in love with someone who’s supposed to be dead, it’s impossible for the audience not to. Yet again, I’m not convinced this is love. As I’ve mentioned before, everything that Mark knows about Laura is primarily through Waldo and her letters/diary. He doesn’t really truly know who Laura is, because there’s a chance she is a completely different person in real life. Instead, I believe he fell for the idea of her, and the feelings are not of love but simply curiosity and desire to have her. He’d wonder what a life with her could be like if Laura was still alive, thus heightening his infatuation because death had her before he did. 

The main difference between Walter and Mark was that the latter somewhat understood who Laura was before becoming infatuated with her, whilst the former immediately jumped to flirt and court Phyllis, knowing nothing more than her name and her married status. But despite their contrast, these two male protagonists both “fell in love at first sight”, or so we thought. Walter’s hyper-focus on Phyllis’ legs displays his lust for her body, and this is an entirely different feeling from love. I can understand an aspect of “love at first sight” is to be physically attracted to someone first, then getting to know their personality and quirks afterwards. But this can’t be applied to Walter and Phyllis. He did not express any want to know her better (at least in their first meeting), only that he “wants to see her again, close”. So to say he fell in love with her is inaccurate. He was only interested in her

physically - and that is not what love is. 

For Mark, I feel very strongly about his relationship with Laura, and I don’t think this is how “love” should be portrayed. Falling for a portrait of her is one thing, but falling despite knowing that she’s dead is worse. Mark wasn’t in love with Laura. He has this image of her in his mind, painted by good words from people around her and the kindness she must’ve shown in her letters and diary, and that is exactly who he thinks he’s in love with. Like Walter, Mark also experienced a type of desire, not one for her body, but to have her and be with her. “Obsession” is a strong word, but I don’t think using it for Mark is unfair. He was so obsessed with a dead victim, that he was willing to buy her portrait and put it up on his house. This detail in the film was so bizarre to me, and I thought it was the furthest thing from romantic gestures. 

In conclusion, the depiction of “love at first sight” in “Laura” and “Double Indemnity” is not love, but rather lust and unhealthy obsession. Perhaps these are also a staple in noir films - the confusion between true love and shallow infatuation. However, it can’t be denied that romance, no matter how questionable some relationships are, plays a huge part in making a movie truly noir.