(let the record show that the 'ssshh' image was kindly donated by this website)
So many films are filled with speech or speech’s sake…just
to fill the silences, as if silence is something to be afraid of…but there are
so many films which have used silence to good effect – look at the scene with
the Joker in The Dark
Knight where Chris Nolan
uses the contrast of silence against the wrenching, crunching background noise
to glorious affect…
Now for any future film-makers out there, this is proof, if
proof be need be (thanks Chris
Morris), that silence is an essential part of any movie…it helps us digest
what is actually happening in the film…ever notice how some of the more
spurious action films out there don’t have a second of silence? Like Speed 2 or Mission Impossible 3 (or 4 or
5, or whatever it is) for example? This isn’t coincidence – it’s because for 99
per cent of those enjoyable, if slightly thinly spread films, there ain’t
nothing close to a hint of a storyline…and if the audience gets a second to
think about the film, they’ll realise this, and then, oops – the game’s up!
The silence drapes the scene in gravitas, ceasing all the
confusion, and descending the audience into a true understanding of what has
just happened…letting the weight of the situation land like a hammer blow…and
the effect, when it’s done right, can be unforgettable!
So here are the best uses of silence in recent films, which
I strongly suggest you take the time to have a look at;
- The Godfather Part 3 (twice in the same scene)
- There Will Be Blood
- No Country For Old Men
- The Dark Knight
- Sherlock Holmes 2
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