Narrative technique · used in 36 films
Letting the audience know something a character doesn't. You watch them act without that knowledge, which creates suspense, dread or dark comedy.
Examples
Jean Renoir · 1939
You watch romantic lies and cases of mistaken identity play out while each person believes they are in control. The gap between how they see themselves and what is real drives the film's comedy.
Where to see it: The rabbit hunt. The killing of the animals hints at the human deaths to come. We can see that and they can't.
Alfred Hitchcock · 1943
Charlie's father and his neighbor Herbie love crime stories. They spend their evenings planning perfect murders as a game. You know a real killer is in the house, so their jokes turn sick, and you feel Charlie's horror listening to them.
Where to see it: Herbie's after-dinner visit. He drops by to talk about poisonous mushrooms and drowning someone in a bathtub, and Charlie snaps and asks why they always have to talk about killing people.
Orson Welles · 1946
You learn early that the teacher Charles Rankin is the fugitive Franz Kindler, but the townspeople and his bride do not. Every friendly dinner and church visit gets tense.
Where to see it: Rankin kills a former associate and poisons the family dog: you see the cruelty, while the town keeps trusting him.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz · 1950
You know from the first frame that Eve will succeed, and Margo doesn't. That gap is dramatic irony, and it hangs over every scene of Margo's trust. Every bit of warmth she offers Eve becomes a wound being opened.
Where to see it: Margo's speech praising Eve's loyalty to the theater company. She means every word while you already know how it ends.
Billy Wilder · 1951
You know the drilling plan is slowing the rescue, and Leo does not. He is stuck below, thinking the reporter is on his side. That gap makes every friendly word from Tatum feel colder.
Where to see it: Leo's anniversary gift: Leo tells Tatum there is a fifth-anniversary present for Lorraine in their bedroom. Tatum forces a reluctant Lorraine to open the fur stole and wear it.
Alfred Hitchcock · 1953
You know Otto killed the lawyer because you saw him confess. Father Logan cannot tell anyone, so every police question turns into slow pain. The police look in the wrong direction and you watch it happen.
Where to see it: The police interview. Inspector Larrue calls Logan in, and he refuses to give any information about the murder.
Billy Wilder · 1954
You know who Sabrina is the second she gets off the train, and David does not. His flirting is funny and a little cruel, because you know what he ignored for years.
Where to see it: The lift home: David, passing by the station, offers Sabrina a ride without recognizing her. She accepts.
Billy Wilder · 1955
Richard sweats that his wife will find out, while she is only thinking about her son's paddle. You know he has nothing to fear yet, which makes his guilt both silly and sad.
Where to see it: The paddle: Richard worries that Helen will discover the night with the woman upstairs, but she only wants him to send their son Ricky his paddle.
Ingmar Bergman · 1960
You know the herdsmen killed Karin, and her parents do not. Every kind word at the dinner table hurts, because you are waiting for the moment the family finds out. The suspense comes from knowledge you cannot pass on.
Where to see it: The herdsmen at the farm: that night the 3 men ask for shelter at Karin's home, and one offers to sell her clothing to her mother Märeta.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz · 1963
You know Cleopatra is alive, and Antony does not. After false news that she is dead, he falls on his sword. He then learns the truth and dies in her arms. The gap between what you know and what he knows makes his death hurt.
Where to see it: Antony's death. Apollodorus falsely tells Antony that Cleopatra is dead, and Antony falls on his sword.
Alfred Hitchcock · 1966
Once you learn Armstrong's defection is a ruse, you know more than his fiancee Sarah and his East German hosts. Every scene of him cooperating with them carries a second meaning. You watch Sarah worry about a man you know is not what he appears.
Where to see it: The Leipzig interrogation. Scientists ask Sarah about the American anti-missile program, and she refuses and runs from the room, believing Armstrong has truly defected.
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · 1985
You know Visser doctored the photos and killed Marty, and Ray and Abby do not. Each of them reads the clues wrong and suspects the other. Their mistakes pile up while you watch them happen.
Where to see it: Marty's body: Visser fakes photos of the couple dead and shoots Marty with Abby's gun, and Ray finds the scene.
Francis Ford Coppola · 1986
You know Peggy Sue comes from 1985, and the people around her don't. Her high school boyfriend Charlie doesn't know how their marriage will turn out, and Richard doubts her until she starts describing the future. The gap between what she knows and what they know drives the comedy and the ache.
Where to see it: Peggy Sue and Richard. He doesn't believe her story until she starts describing what is coming.
Steven Spielberg · 1989
You can see Pete, but Dorinda and Ted cannot. You know what he is thinking and what he wishes he could say. That gap creates the sadness and the small comedy of the film.
Where to see it: Pete's scenes with Dorinda after his death. She can't see him, and you can.
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · 1990
You know Tom spared Bernie, but the gangsters around him do not. When Tom takes Bernie into the woods, Caspar's men wait within earshot but cannot see, so they believe the gunshot is real. That gap in knowledge keeps every later scene tense, especially when a rotting body is found and everyone assumes it is Bernie.
Where to see it: The execution at Miller's Crossing. Bernie begs for his life, and Tom fires his gun into the ground and tells him to leave town.
Kathryn Bigelow · 1990
You know Hunt is the killer, but Turner does not. Their dates and conversations are tense because you want to warn her. Every sweet moment between them is a threat.
Where to see it: The dates with Hunt: Turner starts dating Hunt, unaware that he is obsessed with her and is behind the killings, until he tells her at his apartment.
James Cameron · 1994
You know Harry is a secret agent, and Helen thinks he sells computers. Every dull dinner and missed evening plays differently because you know the truth. The gap makes ordinary scenes funny.
Where to see it: Harry's cover story: Harry is a secret agent posing as a computer salesman, and Helen has no idea.
Wes Craven · 1996
Randy yells at the TV, telling the girl in Halloween to look behind her. At the same moment, the killer is standing right behind him. You see both, and Randy sees neither.
Where to see it: Randy on the couch. Everyone else has left the party, and Randy is alone watching Halloween while Ghostface creeps up behind him.
Wes Anderson · 1996
Anthony gives Dignan an envelope for Inez that holds most of their money. You know what is inside and Dignan does not, so you watch him hand it over like a simple favor. A translator also fails to pass on Inez's message of love, so the 2 lovers miss each other.
Where to see it: The envelope for Inez: Anthony gives Dignan an envelope for Inez that holds most of their money, and Dignan delivers it without knowing.
Anthony Minghella · 1999
You know Tom killed Dickie, but the people around him do not. Every friendly chat in Rome carries the risk that someone will see through him. Chats that would be harmless anywhere else make you hold your breath.
Where to see it: Rome opera: Tom, still posing as Dickie, attends an opera with Meredith. Marge and Peter Smith-Kingsley appear and nearly expose him.
Woody Allen · 2001
You know the thefts come from the hypnosis. C.W. does not. Even the detective is framed and arrested for them. You watch him try to solve a case he is at the center of.
Where to see it: C.W.'s arrest. He is framed for a theft he committed under hypnosis and cannot explain.
Christopher Nolan · 2002
You watch Dormer shoot Hap, so you know the truth from the start. Ellie Burr, the young local detective, admires Dormer and slowly works out what happened. Every question she asks him is tense, because you know the answer and she doesn't.
Where to see it: Ellie's second look at the shooting. Going back over the case, she finds details that don't match Dormer's statement.
Park Chan-wook · 2002
Ryu is deaf, so he cannot hear when Yu-sun slips into the river while he buries his sister. You watch the girl fall in and he does not. The gap between what you know and what he knows is awful to sit through.
Where to see it: The riverbed burial and drowning. Ryu is busy with his sister's body while Yu-sun falls into the water behind him.
Woody Allen · 2006
You can see more than Sondra can. While she is falling for Peter Lyman, Sid collects clues that point to him. During a phone call, Sondra waves off Sid's findings and you learn Lyman is listening on another extension. That knowledge makes every date with him tense.
Where to see it: The phone call. Sid tells Sondra what he has found about Lyman, and Lyman quietly listens in on another line.
Paul Greengrass · 2006
You know how the day ends, and the people on screen do not. The film uses that gap from the first scene, when the hijackers pray in a hotel and the passengers check in for a routine flight. Small, ordinary moments such as a rushed boarding or a late start feel heavy.
Where to see it: The boarding at Newark. Mark Bingham gets on just before the doors close, and the hijackers sit among the other passengers.
Robert Zemeckis · 2007
Beowulf comes home with Grendel's head and tells the court a bigger, cleaner version of how he beat Grendel's mother. You have seen the cave scene, so you know what he left out. Watching the crowd cheer him makes the lie feel heavy.
Where to see it: The return to Heorot: Beowulf announces that he has killed Grendel's mother and tells an embellished story of the fight. Hrothgar privately asks if it is true.
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · 2008
You know far more than anyone in the story. You see Harry kill Chad, so you watch him help Linda look for Chad, unaware that he is the killer. The CIA men keep trying to work out what happened while you already know.
Where to see it: The search for Chad. Linda tells Harry where Chad went before he vanished, and Harry realizes Chad is the man he shot.
Peter Jackson · 2009
You know Harvey is the killer long before the family does. So when Lindsey breaks into his house, you are waiting for him to come back. The suspense comes from what you know that she doesn't.
Where to see it: Harvey's house: Lindsey sneaks in and finds a notebook with a sketch of the den. Harvey almost catches her.
Robert Zemeckis · 2012
You saw Whip pour vodka into his orange juice, so you know more than the investigators do. At the hearing, the lead investigator praises his flying and says no other pilot could have done it. Every kind word makes the coming confession feel heavier.
Where to see it: The NTSB hearing: The investigator says the crash came from mechanical failure and that no other pilot could have matched Whip's landing. She also reveals empty vodka bottles were found on the plane.
Ridley Scott · 2013
The film opens with cocaine hidden in a sewage truck and driven across the border, so you see how the trade really works. Then the Counselor, who has never done a deal, stays calm even after Westray warns that Mexican cartels are merciless. You know more than he does, and every confident line feels dangerous.
Where to see it: Westray's warning: Westray tells the Counselor the deal has a 4000% return, then cautions him about the cartels, and the Counselor stays outwardly unconcerned.
Jordan Peele · 2017
From the opening scene, the images and dialogue warn you of a danger Chris only partly sees. That gap keeps the tension high for pretty much the whole film.
Where to see it: The 'sunken place' hypnosis scenes. You understand how it works before Chris does.
Woody Allen · 2017
You know Ginny is cheating on Humpty and that Carolina is in danger, while Humpty carries on with his routines. Each scene of family normality gets tenser because you hold the facts he lacks.
Where to see it: The boardwalk family scenes: Humpty goes about his days with Ginny, who is hiding her affair with Mickey.
Clint Eastwood · 2018
You know the agent in the diner is hunting Tata, and the old man knows nothing about it. Earl even tells Bates how to mend fences with his wife. The advice is for the man who is trying to catch him.
Where to see it: Diner scene: in the middle of a $12 million shipment, Earl winds up in a diner with Bates. Neither recognizes the other, and Earl advises him not to make the mistakes he made.
Danny Boyle · 2019
You know 'Yesterday' is a classic, and Jack's friends do not. When he sings it for them, they react as if it were a brand new song. What you know makes the scene funny and a little uncomfortable.
Where to see it: The first performance. After the blackout, Jack sings 'Yesterday' for his friends, and they assume he wrote it.
Clint Eastwood · 2019
You know Jewell is innocent, and he is the one who trusts the people building a case against him. He cooperates with the FBI because he respects authority. You wince at every polite answer.
Where to see it: FBI office: Shaw lures Jewell to the FBI office, and Jewell is initially cooperative. He grows suspicious only when asked to sign an acknowledgement that he has been read his Miranda rights.
Richard Linklater · 2024
You know Ron is really Gary, a college professor, but Madison does not. Every kiss and every gun lesson plays on that gap. You watch her trust a man who does not exist.
Where to see it: The gun lesson: Gary shows Madison how to use a gun and tells her to aim for the heart, knowing she thinks he is a real hitman.
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