"I'm crazy about you, baby."

Billy Wilder's seminal crime noir 'Double Indemnity' set the stage for the genre for decades to come, the perfect textbook example of the type of atmosphere, script, narration and more that defines these types of films. It's got spot on performances from the likes of Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson, their characters filled with life and pensive analysis, and the film's razor-sharp, witty script from Wilder and Raymond Chandler is so good that you can hardly keep up with it because of how perfectly worded yet fast-paced and catchy it is, constantly lingering on a great line or exchange before another one presents itself moments later.

There really isn't much to share here that hasn't been covered objectively stronger in the past nearly-80 years but there's certainly a reason why this film is seen as so ground-breaking and trailblazing, ahead of its time and redefining cinema as we know it. It's brilliantly told via an opening confession that leads to flashbacks showcasing the plotting and murderous intent of the scheme and how it ended up with so many lives lost. It's a stunning technical marvel, both in front of and behind the camera, and 'Double Indemnity' has as much realism as it does fantastical intrigue and romantic impossibilities, where you never know where the story may end up, deliciously so.