Telling Without Showing: LURED
Lured’s opening 75 seconds shows us how a serial killer meets his targets, wines-and-dines them, then sends a taunting letter to the police, all without showing said killer’s face. In fact, we know almost nothing but his name, and ‘John’ is not only incredibly common, but surely a nom de plume.
Let’s look at how blocking and framing tells a full story, while showing so little.
Meet ‘Cute’
The cross-fade transition from the note to the carnation tells us how John sets up his meetings before Laura gets off the bus, says his name, and we see the shadow at her feet take off his cap.
The cap-doff is a sign of social politeness, and means we don’t hear his voice, but together with their meeting spot it’s also a signal he’s quite comfortable in society.
Sandwich Board Guy’s timing is part exposition, part dark joke, and part visual flair — what with most of him inky black while a stripe of light shines on his message, and a match flare popping as he lights his pipe.
Sandwich Board Guy also serves a practical purpose of hiding John as he steps from the shadows; we get no idea of John’s profile, and only a split second glimpse of him walking with Lucy towards the restaurant.
This look at John’s back lasts only a few frames — you can only see or screenshot with trigger-quick pausing — so at full speed is a tease which makes the audience lean forward to catch a better look.
Wining and Dining
A tilt-and-pan shot which shows John’s shadow, his feet (somewhat obscured behind Lucy’s), and the back of his coat, before the restaurant window prominently frames Lucy while he’s hidden behind the curtain.
Aftermath
Another silhouette, this one in seeming daylight, which seems to signal we’ve missed some significant events during the dark of night, and indeed the film soon confirms his note brags about Lucy’s death.
A closeup shows the same gloved hands which pinned the carnation as they take a letter from a typewriter and drop it in a mailbox. The gloves obscure John’s hands from us, with the plausible excuse that he’s hiding his fingerprints, but really so we don’t have any additional information about him.
Takeaways
Film gives us a variety of ways to show events happening without showing someone’s features, broadcasting their voice, or revealing many distinguishing attributes at all.
Once you answer the question ‘how theatrical, humorous, or melodramatic are you willing to get?’ you can explore how many of these techniques can work for your shot!