Two Timelines, One Countdown – How Cross-Cutting Builds Tension in Film

MZed Education

by Mascha DeikovaToday

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When we talk about “storytelling” in film, we include a wide array of tools and areas. Among them is editing, obviously a very important one. And today, we’re going to look at one editing technique that works wonders in terms of building tension. Namely: cross-cutting, also called parallel montage or parallel editing. How it works, when it is best to use, and what goals it can follow – let’s explore different film examples below.

Although cross-cutting is an editing tool, I think it’s best to decide on it early in your project – preferably while you’re still writing the script. That way, even if you film the different sequences on different days, you’ll be able to sustain the required tension on set and think of clever cuts between the storylines. (We’ll look at one famous example of how to do this in a moment.)

What cross-cutting actually is, and whose theory it comes from

Cross-cutting, or parallel montage, is a famous editing technique that shows two (or more) separate lines of action side by side. The core idea behind it is to cut back and forth between them as though they’re racing each other toward the same moment.

The term you’ll most often hear attached to this technique’s origin is Griffith’s “last-minute rescue.”  It’s named for D.W. Griffith, a director and innovator sometimes called “the Shakespeare of the screen.” According to film historian Robert Sklar, writing for Encyclopedia Britannica, Griffith was already practicing parallel editing between two storylines in “After Many Years” in 1908. The following year, he pushed it even further in “The Lonely Villa,” rapidly cutting between three simultaneous actions: a band of robbers breaking into a suburban villa, a woman and her children barricaded inside, and her husband rushing home from town to save them. (You can watch the whole film in its restored form here.)

This specific pattern — robbers closing in, family trapped, rescuer racing against the clock — is basically the definition of the “last-minute rescue” technique. Film historians say the crucial detail is that Griffith didn’t just alternate shots. He held each shot for a shorter duration as the parallel lines neared each other, so the cutting itself speeds up as the “deadline” approaches. Many of the examples we’re going to analyze follow the same idea, and it’s a great one to keep in mind if you want to intensify tension in your films.

When cross-cutting plays tricks on the viewers

One classic example of cross-cutting that you will find in every textbook is from “The Silence of the Lambs.” However, its creators took the technique one step further and turned it into a trap for the audience. I’m talking about a specific scene that happens later in the film. The FBI believes serial killer Buffalo Bill lives in one Illinois town, and a heavily armed team prepares to raid the house. Meanwhile, Clarice Starling, working off a lead nobody else trusts yet, knocks on a door in an entirely different state, hundreds of miles away. Let’s rewatch it together – and please, pay close attention to the editing:

Did you notice the key twist arranged through the cross-cutting? The director, Jonathan Demme, edits between two lines (actually three, since we see Bill’s actions as well) so tightly, and uses sound so deliberately, that it makes us feel like we’re watching one raid in one place. As the FBI’s decoy rings the bell, a buzzer goes off in Bill’s basement. For a few seconds, the editing lets you believe the cavalry has arrived at the right address. It hasn’t. This kind of misdirection adds to the suspense, as it does to the “surprise” effect, once we realize who really rang the bell. And it works because the shots were planned in advance, not thanks to a happy accident in the editing room.

Using deadline as an important tool

Another instance, the sci-fi action film “In Time,” takes the last-minute rescue and makes the “deadline” part of the technique disturbingly literal. In this film, lifespan itself is currency – everyone has a glowing countdown embedded in their arm, and when it hits zero, they die. Here is a scene that uses this concept of time running out, together with cross-cutting, to intensify a personal and emotional moment. (Spoiler alert: a spoiler is coming!)

How did this sequence affect you? Did it keep you on the edge of your seat? Did you feel for the characters? I did, and I have. The protagonist, Will, races to reach his mother, Rachel, before her personal clock runs out. She, in turn, is sprinting to meet him, having just spent her last hours of “time” paying off a loan. The film cuts back and forth, and the last stride feels like a culmination, taking us on an emotional rollercoaster. Will she make it in time? Will he manage to save her? This is a perfect moment to stretch the tension through parallel editing.

Using cross-cutting to create a connection between different concepts

Sure enough, cross-cutting doesn’t need a ticking clock or a rescue at all to become a strong storytelling tool. Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece, “The Godfather,” proves this statement. In the baptism sequence, film creators intercut the solemn christening of Michael Corleone’s godson with a series of murders Michael has ordered across the city. The heads of the other mafia families are assassinated in barbershops, elevators, and even massage rooms, while Michael, at the altar, renounces Satan and all his works, professing his faith in God.

It’s pure irony, isn’t it? As you can see, nobody in this parallel sequence is racing anywhere, and no one needs rescuing. So why cut between the two, if not to emphasize the suspense? Because the editing merges two concepts that, at first glance, have nothing to do with each other. But oh-they-do. Factually, this scene underlines that Michael used baptism as his alibi while people were being killed. Metaphorically, it shows how Michael becomes a godfather in two senses: to his nephew and to his mafia family. Every cut back to his face during the baptism scene, after nearly every kill, suggests his responsibility. What an interesting moral contradiction, right?

Conclusion on cross-cutting

To sum up and tie together the examples above: cross-cutting works because it lets a film occupy two places, two emotional lines, or two moral positions at the same instant. This lets filmmakers heighten tension, play with the viewer’s expectations, or create metaphorical connections between different concepts. In other words: a powerful tool to keep in mind.

Let’s jump to a different storyline: What is your opinion on cross-cutting? Do you find it a great technique or does it, on the contrary, annoy you? Is there a parallel montage sequence from your own projects – where the editing had to do work that the footage alone couldn’t? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature image: film stills from “The Silence of the Lambs” by Jonathan Demme, 1991; and “The Godfather” by Francis Ford Coppola, 1972.

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