Murray Pomerance, venerated film scholar, is the first to take on the
'cheat' in film, where 'cheating' constitutes a collection of
production, performance, and structuring maneuvers intended to foster
the impression of a screen reality that does not exist as presented.
This usually calls for a suspension of disbelief in the viewer, but that
rests on the assumption that disbelief is problematic for viewership,
and that we must find some way to "suspend" or "disconnect" it in order
to allow for the entertainment of the fiction in its own terms.
The Film Cheat explores forty-five aspects of the 'cheat, ' analyzing
classic films such as Singin' in the Rain and Chinatown, to more
contemporary films like The Revenant and Baby Driver, with Pomerance
engaging his encyclopedic knowledge of film history to point out
numerous instances of suspensions of disbeliefs. Whether or not Gene
Kelly is actually dancin' in the rain, or if Elliott is really flying on
his bicycle carrying E.T., these cheats are what make movie magic.
Elegantly weaving the narrative for one to dip into at random or to read
from cover to cover, Pomerance turns things upside down so that the
audience actually finds pleasure in the cheat itself, pleasure in the
disbelief. To see the elegant fake, the supremely accomplished
simulacrum is a pleasure in its own right, indeed one of the fundamental
pleasures of cinema.
