Many stories take a long time to develop, but we don't ind if there is a satisfying payoff at t he end. is true whether it be a movie, a play, a novel, or a long-winded joke.
I have to think of Hitchcock's "Rear Window" in this regard. It is slow-moving, even tedious, but has a nice payoff at the end. As Roger Ebert perceptively observed, the whole movie can be seen as foreplay leading up to the grand climax.
I recently read "We, The Jury", by Robert Rotstein. What a total waste of time! I tolerated the poor writing and all the jumping around the author does in describing the jury deliberations in a murder case, thinking there would be a nice payoff at the end. But there was no payoff! The ending made absolutely no sense, and was completely unsatisfying.
By contrast, the third series of the British TV crime drama "Shetland" was wonderful. The story takes place over six episodes, which calls for a big investment of time and energy to stick with it. But the payoff at the end was absolutely worth it, as the culprit turns out to be someone we'd never suspect. And the great scenery and culture of the Shetland Islands helped make the journey worthwhile.
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