Nothing had slipped; nothing had been overlooked. There was nothing to give us away. And yet, as I was walking down the street to the drugstore, suddenly, it came over me that everything would go wrong. It sounds crazy, but it’s true, so help me, I couldn’t hear my own footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man. – Walter Neff

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For the lips of an adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. – Proverbs 5:3-5

                The film opens to a man struggling to walk into his place of employment. He’s so early that no one is in building. As he staggers into an office, clearly nursing a fatal injury, he begins to record the events that led him to this moment. The recording is addressed to his coworker, Keyes, an insurance adjuster tasked with rooting out fraudulent claims. He muses, “I suppose you’ll call this a confession when you hear it . . . Well, I don’t like the word confession. I just want to set you right about something you couldn’t see because it was smack up against your nose.”

                What does it mean to confess? Confession is not simply an admittance of something. The term literally means to agree. Agree with what? Agree that what we have done is morally wrong and that we are morally accountable for those actions. Even more we are agreeing that we deserve the rightful consequences of our decisions. Walter Neff, our protagonist, is willing to admit his actions, but he is reluctant to confess his accountability. Much less is he willing to stick around for the sentence.

                Walter’s “confession” is the driving force of the narrative that unfolds. We watch the fast-talking, witty insurance salesman as he encounters the mysteriously attractive Mrs. Dietrichson. He’s immediately enraptured, and we already know that the story ultimately ends with Walter stumbling to his confession, bleeding out from a gunshot wound. Even though we know the end and the beginning, we are still left speculating how the two connect. How did he go from a successful insurance agent to a criminal hopelessly clutching to the last strains of life?

                Walter is at the Dietrichson household to prevent a lapse of car insurance. Mr. Dietrichson is not home, but Walter finds his wife much better company. He’s willing to flirt and test the waters of her interest even though she’s married. At the next meeting, the husband is still absent, and the wife suggests taking out accident insurance on her husband. Walter initially sniffs out her murderous intentions and walks out of the meeting. It seems that Walter is heeding the advice of Solomon who instructs his readers to “keep yourself far from the [adulterous woman], and do not go near the door of her house” (Proverbs 5:8). But the beautiful woman’s allure is relentless. Instead of making up his mind against what he knows is wrong, he ruminates on the possibility of getting away with it. What if he can cheat the system and have it all? Why can’t he get the girl and get the money? He’s in the perfect position to make it happen.

                Working shoulder to shoulder with Keyes, the insurance adjuster, has allowed Walter to see all the ways that people try to cheat the system. After a while it’s difficult not to daydream about how you would cheat the system. If you knew all the possible pitfalls could you commit the perfect crime? At its foundation, this is how all sin begins. In our minds we either think that we are above the rules, or that we won’t get caught, or that it’s not a big deal, or that it is worth the risk.  “The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks, ‘God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.’ He is secure at all times. He has no regard for your commands; he disdains all his enemies, He says to himself, ‘I will never be upended, because I experience no calamity’” (Psalm 10:4-6). Walter chooses to give into his sinful desires because he thinks he will be able to fly above the consequences. We know that he’s stuck on the ground and gets caught in the crossfire.

                Walter and Mrs. Dietrichson seem to have a foolproof plan, and they put it into action. After tricking Mr. Dietrichson into signing for accident insurance, they decide to stage an accident on the train. If he dies by a less-likely mishap, then the policy doubles. In their greed the two lovers can’t avoid the temptation of double indemnity. On their way to the train station the two kill the husband and Walter takes his place on the train, pretending to be Mr. Dietrichson. After ditching the back of the train, they stage the body to make it look like an accident. The plan goes off without a hitch, but the best laid plans can’t account for everything.

                As he puts the finishing touches on his alibi, Walter can’t shake the feeling of dread. “Nothing had slipped; nothing had been overlooked. There was nothing to give us away. And yet, as I was walking down the street to the drugstore, suddenly, it came over me that everything would go wrong. It sounds crazy, but it’s true, so help me, I couldn’t hear my own footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man.”  He doesn’t understand how right he is.

                In the coming weeks the insurance company investigates the case, and it seems to be all going Walter’s way. The police are content with an accidental death and there seems to be no evidence of foul play or even suicide. The insurance company looks to be on the hook to pay out double their policy. But as Keyes sits with the evidence of the case, small inconsistencies begin to fester, his legendary “little man” within him telling his something is off. As he digs deeper, he is more convinced that Mr. Dietrichson’s death was no accident. All the while Walter is his sounding board, listening to Keyes work out the details of his master plan. All he can do is sit and hope he doesn’t figure out his part in the crime.

                Walter realizes that the consequences of his sin are slowly suffocating him. He is willing to cut bait and walk away without the money. His conspirator is less willing. She reminds him of what they kept telling themselves in the lead up and immediate aftermath of their crime. “Straight down the line. Remember?” It’s meant to remind them that they’ve done everything in such a way that they won’t get caught. Ironically their path “straight down the line” is more like “straying to left and to the right” (Joshua 1:7): a biblical phrase used to describe unrighteousness.

                The coverup inevitably leads to disaster (which we already know). The greatest tragedy is not the deaths that unavoidably occur, but Walter’s continued, although subtle, rebellion. When it becomes clear that they will not escape consequences Mrs. Dietrichson exclaims, “We’re both rotten.” “But you’re a little more rotten,” Walter responds. He may have messed up, but he is not willing to shoulder the brunt of the blame. Even after his “confession” and Keyes walks in, he tries to escape to the border. Keyes knows that he won’t even make it out of the building in his condition.

                The Bible talks a lot about confession. Solomon writes, “The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). David admits, “When I refused to confess my sin, my whole body wasted away, while I groaned in pain all day long. . . Then I confessed my sin; I no longer covered up my wrongdoing. I said, ‘I will confess my rebellious acts to the LORD.’ And then you forgave my sins” (Psalm 32:3, 5). Confession is not simply therapeutic, but an essential step in changing our hearts.

                Walter exemplifies too many people in this world. People that acknowledge their actions, but do not fully acknowledge their guilt. Confession is not simple admittance, but the agreement that I am rightfully judged for my actions, actions that were morally wrong. The apostle John describes such a person. “If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). It is all too possible to admit our wrongdoing like Walter and still remain unwilling to submit to both the blame and the consequences.

                True confession requires submission. And submission requires humility. But if we are willing to come to grips with who we really are and who God really is, then we have taken the first steps to redemption and reconciliation. Because God has promised “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The man bleeding out in the office retelling his story of the “perfect crime” should be a cautionary tale for us all against the pride of our own hearts because, “God is scornful to arrogant scoffers, yet he shows favor to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34).

Should I Watch This Movie? - If you’ve never watched a “Film Noir” then this should probably be your introduction.

Should This Movie Be in the Top 250? – With some of the best dialogue and cinematic pacing, it’s right where it’s supposed to be.