IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT RSS

There are two kinds of non-verbal communication: Between the characters, and between the film and the audience. To the former: I have recently been watching or re-watching older films, one of them being the extraordinary In the Heat of the Night. It’s readily apparent why this movie swept the Oscars that year. One element that readily stands out is, of course, Sidney Poitier’s performance as Detective Tibbs. It’s instantly apparent that, as a character, this is a quiet and thoughtful man, reserved to the point of stoicism. But he’s always thinking; he observes what’s going on around him, listening closely,...