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Three films that can teach you the power of setup and payoff
Setup and payoff are the conjoined twins of great filmmaking.
They, at heart, help to represent what films need, including:
- character arcs
- plot development
- resolution
And here’s a quick look at some of the best-plotted movies.
These three films happen to be some of my favorite of all-time.
Knives Out
Piece by piece, Knives Out clicks together gorgeously. The film takes the elements of a murder mystery and analyzes it from the inside out. As the investigation unfolds, what we learn about how these characters know each other and what they think of each other ties together perfectly.
Every scene poses a question: Who had the motive? The means? The opportunity? And every answer is satisfying because it feels right for these people.
The film’s final scenes change everything you’ve seen up to that point in a way that’s completely earned. And it does so with a few quick cuts and only a drop of blood.
With dazzling images that engage the audience’s interest and delivers on them with deftness and skill, this movie is the perfect absolution for a director who has been the target of much antipathy…
