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Clip description
After making love with Andreas, Claire (Julia Blake) has breakfast with her husband John (Terry Norris), who asks what she did last night. After being vague, if not untruthful, she reveals she slept with another man but he refuses to believe her, accusing her of making an ‘absurd’ joke.
Curator’s notes
This scene establishes the comfort and apparent solidity (yet also complacency) of Claire and John’s marriage – that he asks her what she did last night without looking directly at her is telling. The fact that she seems able to recall the exact date they last made love is also significant.
The slow zoom of the camera creates suspense. We know the filmmaker is preparing us for an emotional revelation, but when it comes it’s not what we expect. John’s refusal to believe his wife is capable of infidelity speaks eloquently about their marriage. His reaction provides a satisfyingly unexpected outcome to the scene. In screenwriting terms, it proves that the most rewarding outcome of a scene is not always the most dramatic. By muting, or delaying, a dramatic event (such as an emotional outburst), the narrative can be made more effective by avoiding the obvious.
