English actor, filmmaker, and author Richard Ayoade frequently considers the relationship between viewers and characters in movies. He observes that viewers typically have a better idea of what will happen than the characters do. This realization can be found in a variety of situations, but it is particularly noticeable during tense scenes where tension is increased by visual cues rather than spoken words.

Think of watching a movie as being like competing with yourself at chess. You represent a character on the board, but you are also another piece that symbolizes your comprehension of the story and what is going to happen. You see the character's actions from a higher vantage point, similar to looking down at a chessboard, even though they may be moving aimlessly or even toward danger without realizing it.

Ayoade frequently cites instances in which two characters are conversing without realizing that there is a bomb beneath the table they are seated on. The audience is immediately aware of this hidden danger and feels irony as they observe the characters continuing their lives without question. Viewers experience a special kind of engagement as a result of this awareness, feeling both astute and sympathetic to the characters' ignorance.

Ayoade's comment emphasizes how film narrative frequently depends on building layers of detail. Techniques are employed by directors to depict things that the audience can see but the characters in the story cannot. This discrepancy between the characters' and the audience's knowledge is crucial for creating tension, comedy, or drama.

Ayoade's argument essentially draws attention to one of the enchanted qualities of movies: they provide us with a privileged seat that enables us to simultaneously observe events unfolding from several perspectives. At the same time, we are both inside and outside the narrative, which deepens our comprehension and pleasure of movies.