Linearity
When exploring the linearity of events in a film it is important to understand that the filmmaker completely controls the flow of information the audience member receives at any time during the film. Sometimes in film the audience has the exact same information as the main characters. We only know what they know and this is a form of restricted narration. The best representatives of this form is detective films and the mystery genre. It is often used to create suspense and curiosity in the audience. The other possible way of narration is when the audience is given more information that the characters. We know and see more than they do and this is a form of unrestricted narration. Unrestricted narration is when the audience for examples knows the ending before the characters. In (Dead guy in pool… Can’t remember title) we know the fate of the character long before he ends up there.