In Laman's Term: The Power Of Proper Build-Up

In Laman's Terms is a new weekly editorial column where Douglas Laman rambles on about certain topics or ideas that have been on his mind lately. Sometimes he's got serious subjects to discuss, other times he's just got some silly stuff to shoot the breeze about. Either way, you know he's gonna talk about something In Laman's Terms!

SPOILERS FOR WONDER WOMAN AND THE GODFATHER FOLLOW
I love the feeling of anticipation. That sensation that builds up in your stomach as you see the waiter approach your table with your meal or seeing Christmas presents under the tree you get to open in just a few days, there's something about being so close yet so far to an object or event you want ever so much that can be quite exhilarating. Many movies get to replicate this phenomenon by way of leaving the viewer on the edge of their seat via the process of build-up, which in movies can make certain character revelations or action sequences all the more powerful. Today, I thought I'd take your dear reader through two excellent examples of proper cinematic build-up by way of examining an individual scene from two separate movies that both manage to demonstrate the power of well-done build-up.

The first of these examples comes from the sequence in Wonder Woman we all can't stop talking about, the No Man's Land scene. There's a reason people are raving about this moment from the Patty Jenkins movie, it's an absolutely marvelous sequence that feels already like something that'll join the likes of the Spider-Man/Doc Ock train confrontation in Spider-Man 2 or the Hulk/Loki showdown in The Avengers as an all-time great superhero movie moment that's both fun to watch and perfectly encapsulates everything that makes certain superhero characters so beloved. It's hard to imagine the scene resonating this much with audiences if it didn't have such great build-up to its name.

In this No Man's Land sequence, Wonder Woman trots out into the battlefield all by herself, facing down bullets and enemy fire against the wishes of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) solely so she can help innocents being tormented and enslaved on the other side of the battlefield. It's a stirring example of the sort of compassion for the innocent that makes Diana Prince such an incredible character and the way the editing and shot choices at the start of this sequence only add to the exuberant nature of this sequence. Now, the moment Diana learns of people being hurt on the other side of the battlefield, you just know she's gonna race across harsh terrain to help them, but instead of just showing her walking across the battlefield, there's a greater sense of theatricality to how the scene starts that heightens the mythic qualities of the character.

What you've gotta also remember about Wonder Woman's No-Man's-Land sequence is that we haven't seen Wonder Woman's iconic outfit yet in this particular movie, meaning the start of this scene isn't just building up to Diana Prince heading out into combat alone but it's also building up to our first proper shot of her superhero attire. When this scene is transpiring, you can feel a sense of anticipation coursing amidst the audience and the theatrical build-up to Wonder Woman's big scene plays on that anticipation beautifully The scene proper starts with Wonder Woman climbing a ladder to the battlefield, but instead of just a medium shot of her climbing the ladder, we instead get little close-up shots of various pieces of Wonder Woman's body. Her feet landing on each step of the ladder, her hand reaching the top of said ladder, the shield on her back...and then we see her entire superhero outfit.

Not only does that full body shot of Wonder Woman pay off on the build-up seen in the last few shots of her climbing up on the ladder but it also pays off a more elongated form of build-up coming from how the movie hasn't shown us Wonder Woman's superhero outfit up to this point. This singular moment is a turducken-esque pay-off to multiple previously established elements that leaves the viewers spirit soaring while also showing a sense of theatricality that feels perfectly suited to a superhero so drenched in grandeur and the mythological. What transpires after that cheer-worthy beginning in the No Man's Land sequence is equally and sometimes even moreso incredible but there's no denying the sense of build-up that plays off the audience's anticipation in those initial shots of Wonder Woman climbing onto the battlefield play a massive role in why the scene manages to get off to such a spirited start,

By contrast, let's look at a more somber version of build-up in a scene from the 1972 drama The Godfather. Maybe you've heard of this movie, it's kinda obscure! Anywho, the scene in question is a pivotal one for it is the moment that Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) foregoes any chance of having the normal existence he lived up to that point in favor of a violence-driven mob life. Here, Michael is engaging in a dinner at an Italian restaurant with Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) and Mark McCluseky (Sterling Hayden), the former of whom was directly responsible for the attack on Michael's father. Unbeknownst to Sollozzo and McCluesky, Michael Corleone plans to kill the two by way of a gun that one of his associates has hidden behind an old-fashioned toilet in the bathroom of the eating establishment.

Once Michael gets up to use the restroom, we, the viewer, know that it's very likely nothing will be the same. The scene itself culminates in Michael unleashing gunfire that kills the Sollozzo and McCluesky, but before that, we have some excellent build-up that wrings tension out of Michael trying to find the gun in the bathroom. This is one of those sequences that's all about the little details in the editing and the lengths of the shots. They cut back to Sollozzo and McCluesky at their table waiting for Michael to return just enough times while also having Michael have trouble locating the gun for just the right amount of time. Both of these details create instant suspense in making you wonder if either of the two fellas Michael is trying to kill will suddenly get suspicious or if Michael won't be able to locate the weapon he needs.

If the Wonder Woman sequence is all about using build-up to create exhilaration, The Godfather uses build-up here to create tragedy as one waits and see's if maybe some other element will get Michael out of this predicament and he won't resort to the life of violence and crime he wanted to stay out of. There's just enough of a sense of unpredictability though the aforementioned shot choices and intricate details to make you wonder what could happen next...and then all of that masterfully done intense build-up beautifully transitions into a tragic scene of Michael committing the very acts of violence he had been avoiding for so long. The Godfather and Wonder Woman may use the art of build-up in very different ways but boy do they ever make great showcases for why I love the feeling of anticipation so very much.