After seven episodes of following Uzo Aduba‘s Cordelia Cupp as she investigates the murder of White House usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), the season closer of Netflix‘s The Residence opened from the perspective of Wynter for the first time.
“Until the finale, we’ve really only seen A.B. through the perspectives of other characters,” editor John Daigle explains. “So, the intention of this opening was to finally follow him and view the whole night leading to his death through his eyes.”
Though series editor Roger Nygard was originally assigned the finale, Daigle was enlisted to assist with helping trim the opening sequence, which originally clocked in at more than 10 minutes. Determined to avoid eliminating the opening to save time and money, showrunner Paul William Davies asked Daigle for something brisker and “more stylized,” even suggesting the possibility of using split screens.
“It was very tricky, and it was intricate to build that kind of sequence with footage that wasn’t really intended for that kind of treatment,” Daigle says of the fast-paced chain of events in which Wynter, throughout the night of the state dinner, spoke with different staff members and confronted various conflicts that arose. Flashbacks of important moments were also played as the audience rapidly jumped from one scene to the next via split screens. The quick sequence required getting varied camera angles to perfectly match and “a lot of tricks to get things to work in sync with each other,” Daigle says. He also strategically layered “different moments that weren’t quite scripted specifically,” such as dialogue to enhance the story with more context.
“It’s kind of unorthodox to ask another editor to work on another editor’s show, but I love collaboration. I’m not proprietary about my cuts,” Nygard adds of teaming with Daigle for the episode that he describes as being “like a huge movie.”
With a comedic background, having worked on such series as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Veep, Nygard says he’s used to working “where pacing is lightning quick,” and for The Residence, he, too, “hit the ground running with that same intent to keep things moving fast.”
Despite having a quick rhythm, the finale slowly builds for the big reveal. Nygard says reaction cuts that were “too obvious or too strong” and that could lead the audience to figure out the ending were cut. “When you give a blank slate, the audience can project what they think the character might be feeling, and you’re not giving it away,” adds Nygard. “You’re not spoon-feeding it to them.”
Given the series offers a modern take on the classic detective mystery, Daigle and Nygard also reveal that they added some fun Easter eggs throughout the episodes as “fun ways to enhance the atmosphere” including a Sherlock Holmes film playing on a TV and layering the theme of The Third Man with spinning shots that serve as an homage to James Coburn and Cary Grant in Charade.
This story first appeared in a May stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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