The purpose of this study is to examine the emotional functions of silence in the films Oppenheimer (Nolan, 2023) and Coda (Heder, 2021), using the theoretical frameworks of multimodality and perception. This study was conducted through a qualitative audience study, where a number of participants watched the selected scenes and, thereafter, answered a few questions on a survey. Based on the survey responses, we additionally conducted a thematic analysis to identify the recurring themes that emerged in the participants’ answers. The resultsof this study indicate that the silence in Oppenheimer (Nolan, 2023) heightened a sense of intensity, while in Coda (Heder, 2021), it led to feelings of empathy for the characters. However, in both films, the silence encouraged the participants to focus more on different visual elements. The study showed that the difference in the scenes intensity and empathy mainly were a result of Oppenheimer’s use of background sounds during the silence, while Coda consisted of complete silence. The conclusion of this study indicates how filmmakers can use silence in different ways in order to evoke numerous emotions, such as empathy, intensity or focus on visual components. This study contributes with a deeper understanding of the functions of silence in film, as well as how it can be used by filmmakers and film students in order to receive specific emotions in viewers. It also highlights how silence, aside from its technical means, can work as a powerful tool in order to create intensity, empathy and mark visual objects.