The second viewing

Text: an original contemporary film-review-style practice extract.

On my first viewing, I watched the door. The film made it seem inevitable that someone would come through it, and I treated every conversation beside it as a delay. On my second viewing, I watched the people who were waiting. Knowing what happened at the door did not make their waiting less interesting. It made my earlier impatience look rather careless.

The woman at the table folds a paper napkin whenever a question reaches her. A man checks his watch but never reads it for long enough to learn the time. Behind them, a waiter replaces a cup that nobody has touched. These are not secret clues that unlock a different ending. They are small actions that the expected interruption allowed me to overlook. The film has the confidence to leave them unexplained, although its plot keeps promising that explanations are on their way.

I would not ask a new viewer to ignore the door. Its hold on our attention is part of the film’s design. But the second viewing reveals the cost of that design as well as its skill: we can become so eager for an event that we stop watching what is already happening. The ending remains the same. The waiting room does not.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.

In your answer, consider:

• language features and techniques
• structural techniques
• the effect on the reader.

Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.