So, what was the difference? The answer, according to etiquette expert and author Elaine Swann, was a matter of duration, in part. “The golden rule I share with my clients when it comes to eye contact is to always use it in moderation,” she says. “Look at the person, but don’t stare too deeply, because then you can come off as creepy. But don’t look away for too long, because you may be perceived as elusive.”
Like most social signals, the conventions around eye contact have evolutionary underpinnings. Research has shown that mutual eye contact can trigger everything from an elevated heartbeat to arousal—but if it goes on for too long (that is, beyond 3.2 seconds, per a 2015 study), the contact shifts from being engaging to potentially threatening, and suggesting a fight for dominance.
“If a person holds eye contact without breaking it for an uncomfortable amount of time, it might reveal a couple of things,” Swann says. “They might lack social awareness and not recognize that their long gaze is impacting someone negatively.” At other times, however, “they may be intentionally using that long stare to intimidate an individual or assert power over them.”
A central question of Fielder and Oppenheim’s film is whether Holmes is really as guileless as she seems, or in fact a master manipulator. On one hand, the project at large leaves that call to the viewer. On the other, perhaps the very first teaser tells you everything you need to know.
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