Capítulo 8 - Parte 3 - Tiempo Final

Final Time relied on suspense, with a strong detective tone, a dose of humor, and unexpected twists and turns that kept the viewer guessing the outcome until the final second. Furthermore, it featured seemingly ordinary people as protagonists who, at certain times, faced unexpected situations. The series' story was told over an hour in real time. That is, the classic formula of a fictional plot (introduction, climax, and conclusion) developed seamlessly in just under 60 minutes. The images weren't produced with tense montages, abrupt cuts between shots lasting a fraction of a second, or cameras positioned at implausible angles. The visual aspect of the format was based on the most classic formulas of storytelling and staging, which were exploited with very bright photography and a meticulous technical framework. The variety of stories covered situations ranging from a woman who catches her partner cheating, shooting him and his lover, and in trying to dispose of the bodies, faces a series of vicissitudes of which she also ends up being a victim; to an unbalanced ex-convict and fake plumber who involves a disabled professional and his physical therapist in a dangerous odyssey; to stories about a man who plans to poison his wife of 35 years to run away with his lover, only for the unexpected appearance of a thief to twist the course of events and rethink the roles of the perpetrator and the victim. The chapters are almost entirely set indoors. The stories also share several common threads: characters unable to control what happens around them, fortuitous circumstances that unexpectedly alter the most elaborate plans, emotional reactions to extreme situations that bury any balanced attitude, and a sardonic humor that hovers like a dark shadow over the suspenseful moments in which the characters navigate. The stories do not moralize or pass judgment on the protagonists' behavior, as they merely respect the letter and spirit of the narrative. They allow for the exploration of the multiple visual and argumentative possibilities of suspense, all to achieve the ultimate goal: keeping the viewer's attention on edge.