Once upon a time, movies were shown in theaters with very little information for the audience, a trailer, maybe a poster. Today, almost everything is known before you sit down in the darkened theater. The script “flows” indirectly, through the costumes, the filming locations, and the expressions of the actors in moments captured by the paparazzi.
The latest and most typical example? The start of filming for the second part of the film The Devil Wears Prada . In less than ten days, we have already seen all the costumes, locations and cast of actors.
The characters' clothing alone gives away a lot about the plot of the film, revealing details that would have been considered spoilers in the past. Anne Hathaway appears in a denim skirt, Chanel sandals, and a vintage Coach bag.
View this post on Instagram
The return of Andy Sachs seems like a good fit. And yes, her style clearly shows where the character is in this new chapter. But the question is: did we want to know this before we saw the movie?
If we've already seen the main characters' outfits, the locations, the atmosphere of the scenes, and read theories that analyze every detail of the filming photos, what's left to discover? Is the magic of the film being lost before it's even released?
The thrill that made the first film The Devil Wears Prada so memorable was based on “you never know what’s coming.” Now, we know almost everything. No one denies the pleasure of seeing the costumes in a movie, but the problem arises when the style reveals the narrative. When every bag or coat translates into a narrative twist, and every photo becomes the basis for a theory, before filming has even finished.
In an age where every detail is published in real time, perhaps it's time to rethink our relationship to anticipation and surprise. The magic of a film lies not just in the narrative, but in the way the story surprises us for the first time, with all its elements. And perhaps, to preserve that first thrill, we must learn to resist the temptation to see everything before we've seen the film.
