possum (2018, matthew holness)

Throughout the entirety of the first scene, we do not see Grant’s face.  As the scene ends, the other characters fall out of the frame, and Hitchcock’s camera moves deliberately over to that black slick head, facing away from us.

We want to see Grant and Hitchcock prolongs our agony… But on a deeper thematic level, what that shot does is tenfold. It shows us the key to Devlin’s character.

Do not be fooled by Grant’s beauty, Hitchcock’s camera says. Do not be too swayed by it, we’ll get to his beautiful face soon enough. But I must remind you that this character is dark and unknowable, even to himself (after all, he can’t see the back of his own head either). (x)

Notorious (1946)