The Triangle of Knowledge

The Triangle of Knowledge is a writing technique to create and amplify tension in a screenplay, teleplay or stage play identified by Eric R.

According to Williams, tension is created or enhanced when one of the three corners of the triangle is deprived knowledge (or "kept in the dark") in the scene.

At the beginning of Leaving Las Vegas, screenwriter/director Mike Figgis keeps the audience in the dark revealing just enough details to make the Protagonist (Ben - Character A) stand out.

[1] In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, director William Goldman kept the protagonists in the dark in the final scene.

The movie tells the story of an undercover cop (Brasco) infiltrating the mob through his friendship with gangster Lefty Ruggiero.

This creates tension in even the most mundane scenes because underneath the routine conversation lies the audience's deep-seated interest in predicting whether Brasco will make his way into the mafia’s inner sanctum.