Editing Misdirection: THE PENGUIN
How do you construct a sequence which leads toward two characters confronting each other or one ‘catching’ the other . . . then reveal they’re actually in two different places? Without viewers feeling ‘cheated’?
One of the most famous examples is The Silence of The Lambs revealing the FBI has gone to the wrong house, and Clarice is alone.
The Penguin 1.07 “Top Hat” pulls something similar with Oz (Colin Farrell) and Sofia (Cristin Milioti).
Under the clip we look how framing, colour and lighting, dialogue and sound work together to give the impression Oz and Sofia are getting closer and closer . . . without ever undermining the reveal.
Framing
The scene starts on Oz, in shots of varying sizes and angles. Multiple key shots show him from the vehicle’s vantage point, moving closer while reverse shots from Oz’s POV show the truck driving towards him.
Note it’s from the truck’s point of view, not from “the back seat of the truck” (with one shot inside (01:14) which could be within the front seat / driver’s POV).
This loosely insinuates Sofia looking at him, but on rewatch it’s not a cheat.
Meanwhile Sofia’s shots stay close and tight; Oz’s shots change, hers don’t.
This could be for a number of reasons:
to keep us oriented as shots go back and forth; it can be more confusing when all the shots constantly change size and angle, especially when they’re in similar colours (more on that below)
to indicate Oz is out of control, shots constantly changing as he becomes more frenetic
to indicate Sofia is trapped, confined by the frame
etc.
Because these sorts of choices are often practical and/or creative and/or thematic, in the moment it may not strike the audience as anything strange, or it may raise suspicions but not confirm anything.
Once we have all the information, we understand Sophia’s shots are all close to carefully avoid showing anything outside her windows, because that would give the whole game away.
In fact everything about this shot is crucial to selling the illusion, including how we first cut to it . . .
Colour / Lighting
When Oz answers his phone, the scene makes its first cut to Sofia in dark blueness, lit and shadowed similarly to like Oz.
They’re looking opposite directions, which helps us presume she’s staring at him from the back of her car. Meanwhile, similar shadows and colour palette help transition our brain between them smoothly.
It never states they are in close proximity . . . but it never gives us time or reason to assume they aren’t, either. At least not until the final reveal, when Sofia steps from the car’s blue-black interior to show her actual surroundings, in perfect transition:
The light gets brighter as the door opens and just as we realise ‘wait a second that’s warmish white-yellow, but the basement is blue . . .’ Sofia steps out into daylight.
This transition involves colour change among clever blocking + editing and motion.
Blocking, Editing and Motion
Until this transition Sofia has stayed looking one direction (presumably looking at Oz) in a still frame, while Oz is more kinetic, changing direction and sides of frame, with the camera constantly moving with him. Along with dialogue and performances, stillness contrasted with motion reads as Sofia staying eerily calm as Oz gets more panicked.
When Oz opens the car door from the left of screen, a cut to Sofia who turns toward Frame Left; a movement which is the hardest sell that they’re in the same place . . . right before the reveal they aren’t.
Dialogue and Sound
Dialogue is something characters are in control of; Sofia is playing a game, so she’s crafty with suggesting she’s near Oz.
Meanwhile sound mix is something characters aren’t in control of. In a scene like this, sound mix is a plaster the creators can smooth over any ‘too different’ cracks our brains could trip on. If we heard traffic in Sofia’s shots, the jig would be up! But it can’t sound like she’s in a sound studio, either. The audio has to signal Oz and Sofia could be in proximity, but hold up on second watch (and listen) when we know they’re in completely different spaces.
Sofia’s side of the conversation sounds different-ish than the buzz of Oz’s basement, its vacuum-y sound believable as either traffic or basement noises, when filtered through double-glazed car windows.
Takeaways
To create a twist which doesn’t feel like a cheat, consider lighting, blocking, camera movement, sound mixing, etc. They can’t contradict the story and acting, but they can suggest one situation while actually entirely supporting the reveal.
What if the audience suspect a switcheroo? That’s fine! They’ll get a side of smugness along with the satisfaction of a big reveal.
So long as you don’t ‘cheat,’ the scene will stand up to rewatches for years to come as a fun twist which works on yet another level once the audience has all the information.