the art of the unseen

Tonight I went to a movie that got me thinking: the imagination is a crazy thing. Allow me to explain...

I went to see HARD CANDY, the movie about a 14 yrd old girl who meets up with a 32 yr old dude she befriends and flirts with in an online chatroom. Sounds like a lovely bedtime story, right? I can't really give anymore of the plot away, but I can tell you that things definitley go THRILLER on you! Well, anywho, the movie did make me think but not really at all about the disturbing subject matter. My mind pondered the way the movie was shot. It essentially takes places in one location, with 2 actors, in real time- not exactly the best formula for a thriller. But the movie WAS thrilling. How'd they pull that off? Well, the writing was pretty good and the acting was spot on but it was the directing and editing that made it a success. The director chose to shoot and edit the film using an age-old technique that would make even Alfred Hitchcock proud. Instead of showing the audience EVERYTHING, this movie left you to imagine what you WOULD see if you could. Why show us the monster when it's going to be 10x scarier in our minds? Here's where M. Night Shyamalan failed in SIGNS - he showed us the alien. Bad move, man. HARD CANDY capitalized on this technique and kept making you think you were about to see something bad or gross or disturbing but would never actually go there. You'd be teased, for sure, but were never allowed to see the "scary" parts of the film (although you saw them all too vividly in your own head).

So, this is just a note to all you filmmakers out there (ok, more like to myself): the imagination is a powerful thing. Don't underestimate it. Use it to your advantage. Your audience can make your movie so much better just by what their own imagination can bring to your film.

Cheers.