As filmmakers, sometimes we get moviegoers wrong. Sometimes we believe we have to “hold their hands” while presenting our narrative through film, explaining every little detail to them; almost as if we’re afraid of them misinterpreting and misunderstanding our work.
That is far from the case.
Films that rely on the perfect blend of cinematography and sound, as well as strong acting performances from their actors, don’t need heavy dialogue and weighted exposition dumps throughout their narrative. In fact, the best films in history combine all of the above cleverly, expertly delivering information through the visual and auditory performances while allowing the audience to experience intended emotions and to piece together what is actually happening on screen.
When we experience film we only have two of our five senses to rely on in making sense of what we are perceiving on screen.
This “show-don’t-tell” method of storytelling is rewarding for the viewer simply because it empowers them to figure out characters’ motivations and the overall plot; and once done correctly, can make for what I believe a successfully received audio/visual narrative and a connection between the audience and the filmmaker’s creative vision. That is the purpose of art after all…to be interpreted, understood, received and accepted by the observer; connecting them to the artist.
Perfect examples of this in modern times are recent movies Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Both movies, while being interpretations of existing intellectual properties, were met with universal acclaim by critics and were very well received by moviegoers.
I will dissect a few scenes from these movies, without spoiling them for you.
Dune (2021)
Visually, Dune is striking in its colour palette choices, bold in its sound and daring in its acting performances. The motivations, emotions and thoughts of the protagonist and some of the other characters are seamlessly conveyed to the audience because of the perfect synergy between audio, visual and acting.
In one scene, Dune’s protagonist Paul Atreides finds himself on the desert sands of Arrakis. He is disoriented and confused due to a special resource in these sands, and this is brilliantly presented through use of focus-pulling, camera movement, sound and Timothée Chalamet’s masterful performance.
We are told almost in passing during the first act of the film that the special resource, Spice, in the sands of Arrakis has unique qualities about it and can be helpful and harmful to those who ingest and inhale it. Paul in this scene hears voices, the sounds of these voices echoing as if a memory, or a dream. Some close-up shots are dollying to and away from him, purposely in and out of focus to convey the sense of disorientation to the audience. The editing is filled with quick cuts so as not to have the audience become stable in their perception of this scene. The sound of the whole scene is seemingly sporadic, fading in and cutting out, again never giving the audience the opportunity to gain full coherence in the scene. All of that combined with Chalamet’s performance, with little to no dialogue, keeps the experience feeling like a fever dream and a totally insular experience on this one character.
This scene in Dune keeps our senses of sight and sounds disoriented putting us squarely in the perception of Paul Atreides experiencing the debilitating Spice for the first time.
Even with scenes, where it is unavoidable to have dialogue that is expositionally ladened, it can be executed in a way where it feels natural in conversation and dynamic between two characters.
An example of this and another scene from Dune comes very early in the movie when Paul and his father and ruler of House Atreides, Leto, have just visited the grave of the latter’s father in their ancestral burial ground on their homeworld of Caladan. As they walk back, Paul asks to join another character on a scout mission to Arrakis, being young, impetuous and filled with compulsion to action in the search for answers. His father refuses his request and a back and forth about space politics, familial duty and their royal legacy happens between them. Boring stuff to read I am sure.
However, with the brilliant delivery by and performances of Chalamet and Oscar Isacc as Leto, and brilliant cinematography in the capturing of the beautiful landscapes and an amazing wide shot of them walking and conversing, the scene is more tolerable as it tells us why Arrakis is such an important planet and how Leto plans to strategically move with the planet’s people to broker a peaceful and profitable existence. The scene not only delivers heavy exposition, but gives us a glimpse into the mental make-up of the youthful and inexperienced Paul Atreides and the sage wisdom and benevolent ruler that is his father, Leto.
Let’s switch movies now to that of Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
The Batman (2022)
The scene we will look at comes very early in the movie where Bruce Wayne narrates a journal entry over scenes of Gotham. Bruce is speaking about being Batman for two years and how it has impacted the city. In this scene, there is a montage of various criminals doing petty crimes, with a swelling musical score accompanying Robert Pattinson’s vocal portrayal of Batman. During the scene, the Bat signal illuminates Gotham’s gloomy night sky, indicating Batman is needed. The criminals fear that signal as Bruce informs us that it is not a signal to him that he is needed, but a warning to the criminals that he is coming for them. As he says this we see shots of various criminals, after seeing the signal, look into dark, lonely hallways and doorways and back away and run in fear at the thought of Batman lurking in the shadows.
Again, amazing cinematography, musical score and sound, performances of the actors and of Pattinson’s voice blend to deliver the seediness of Gotham, the callousness of even the smallest of the criminal element and the impact on them in the short time of Bruce being the Batman. All while delivering exposition to the audience.
This scene perfectly sets the tone for the entire 2 hours and 56 minutes of this movie in building the city of Gotham, the thoughts of fear in the criminals plaguing Gotham and the motivations and resilience of Bruce Wayne. This was all executed in a scene that is less than 4 minutes long.
The last scene we will look at comes at the conclusion of the car chase scene between the Penguin and the Batman. It is a long and violent car chase. A lot of car crashes, explosions and destruction.
At the end of the chase, Batman jumped his car through a fiery explosion that the Penguin caused, hoping it would stop and kill the Batman. Batman catches up to the Penguin, hits the side of the back of his car causing it to flip multiple times and crash, causing his car to come to rest on its roof. Batman gets out of his car and slowly but purposefully walks towards the inverted Penguin and we are placed in the perspective of the Penguin who is terrified of this seemingly unkillable vigilante.
The cinematography is perfect here, from the panning shot from the underside of the Batmobile as it comes to rest, showing Penguin’s car crashing; to the perspective of Batman walking slowly walking towards him and close-ups of his face, at first in sheer terror and then in disbelief. The score of Batman’s theme swells seemingly with every methodical step of Batman. The acting by Colin Farrel as the Penguin and even the slow walking of Pattinson is perfectly executed. Being put in the Penguin’s perspective conveys fear and almost amazement as this seemingly supernatural, unstoppable force will never relent until he gets his prey. We, the audience, feel fear, amazement and, most importantly, sheer joy as Batman walks to the Penguin. The joy comes from the overwhelming feeling of subconsciously relating to what the director Matt Reeves wants us to feel in giving us unfiltered access to Penguin’s perspective. That is the connection we all share as moviegoers in scenes like this and we are connected to the director and his vision.
That is what we, filmmakers of narrative-based film and movies, want and are hoping for when we make our art. We want to have our audience almost universally connect with our movie, scene by scene, and ultimately connect with what we as filmmakers intend to tell with our stories.
That is why in film it is far better to show and not tell when executing our creative visions.
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