Narrative technique · used in 1 film

Digressive Crime Dialogue

Letting criminals chat about trivial, personal matters during a tense moment. The small talk makes the danger feel stranger and more human.

Examples

Where you can see it

  1. Shoot the Piano Player (1960) poster

    Shoot the Piano Player

    François Truffaut · 1960

    The gangsters who grab Charlie are not cold killers. They talk like ordinary men, and the chat keeps cutting into the threat. You laugh just as you start to worry.

    Where to see it: The abduction. The gangsters take Charlie and Léna, who escape through Léna's quick thinking.

Questions

Quick answers

What is digressive crime dialogue in film?
Letting criminals chat about trivial, personal matters during a tense moment. The small talk makes the danger feel stranger and more human.
Which films use digressive crime dialogue?
Shoot the Piano Player (1960).
What kind of technique is digressive crime dialogue?
It is a narrative technique. Related narrative techniques include Genre Collage, Symbolic Object, Observational Restraint.

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