Both of these shots are very similar. First, the composition of Neff and Phyllis and Lyne and Edmund are almost identical. Both men and women have almost exactly the same hair styles and costumes. Both have the male role in the dominant position above and to the right of the woman. This is especially prominent in Double Indemnity. The medium shot helps the director show Neff towering over Phyllis. Both stare into each others eyes with passion and desire. I actually find the shot between Lyne and Edmund much more interesting. In this, the director has pulled in to a close up shot blurring the background so the audience focuses totally on the eye contact made between these two characters. The close up closes the height difference of Lyne and Edmund. This gives us the allusion that they are almost the same height and maybe of equal power. The way Lyne is looking at Edmund is different from the way Phyllis is looking at Neff. Her stare is much colder and more complex.
