However, some films almost need that extra tension. They reproduce a singular and unavoidable moment which only adds to the stakes and the latent tension of the story. This can align us with a character’s point of view or add to the feeling of being trapped or alone, unable to escape a character’s circumstances.

Few filmmakers have attempted this monumental challenge, but today, let’s take a look at the five best films shot in one take.

The five best films shot in one take:

Utoya: July 22^sd – Erik Poppe

In many films, filming something in a single take can be slightly meaningless and redundant; what kind of story could warrant the level of tension and painstaking care needed to share it in real time? However, in the case of Utoya: July 22^sdthe technical details of this challenge are completely justified, adding a new level of immersion and anxiety to the horrific true story on which the film is based.

Director Erik Poppe uses the single-take method to document the terrorist attacks that occurred on the Norwegian island of Utøya during the summer of 2011. The film is seen entirely through the perspective of a young girl as she tries to survive the attacks while searching for her. little sister. Initially potentially disturbing, the film fictionalizes an extremely delicate subject. As such, it can dangerously walk the line between entertainment and education. But in the case of Utoya: July 22the decision to share this story using a single take is what makes it less than entertaining.

The single take of the film lasts the same length as the attack, directly reflecting the timeline of events on the island. Using the one-shot technique, the director plunges the audience directly into the inescapable horror of that day, creating a suffocating and unrelenting narrative that is nauseating and almost unwatchable. You regularly find yourself pausing the movie because there’s no break to catch your breath, but instead feel guilty for having the luxury of turning it off.

We also never see the killer on screen, a respectable decision given the rise of content that glorifies some of the worst people in history, turning Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy into TV stars and celebrities. But that makes the threat of shooters even more terrifying; an omnipresent killer whose gunshots echo through the woods without ever being seen. This perhaps also reflects the cowardice of those who choose to hide behind these insidious actions, not wanting to give a face to the one behind the evil. Overall, this is one of the most necessary uses of this technique and forces us to stay in the horror of something no one should ever experience, but unfortunately it is a more common phenomenon in many country, its message resonating with strong urgency. .

Birdman or (the unexpected virtue of ignorance) – Alejandro González Iñárritu

When Birdman burst onto the scene in 2014, it became a surefire favorite among movie fans and film buffs, with everyone complimenting the impressive camera work and performances from the sprawling ensemble. It follows the life of a dying actor, famous for playing a comic book hero, who takes a risk by signing on to star in a Broadway play. However, in the hours leading up to the show, we witness a slow eruption of all the problems in his personal life, with the actor struggling to become the man he wants to be.

It’s shot with a wide-angle lens but held uncomfortably close to the actors, creating a distorted fishbowl effect that adds to the level of scrutiny and pressure felt by the actor. Every decision and conversation spills over and adds to the continuous stream of obstacles Riggan faces in his nightmarish version of reality, resembling a bad dream in which everything goes wrong.

The one-take technique adds not only to the nervousness and anxiety that builds up before a performance, but also to the innate nature of a man whose entire world revolves around his image and how people perceive it, desperate to be admired and remain relevant. However, by living his life this way, he has created a very limited and heightened inner world, completely disconnected from reality, which is reflected in the narrow confines of a single shot by enclosing everything within the frame, even if it does not don’t come back.

Ultimately, this also speaks to the nature of the film industry and how it forces actors to categorize themselves: Riggan is not someone who wants to be known by a single character, but he feels suffocated by the pleasure of the validation he receives from this role. In doing so, he creates a delightfully strange and disturbing film about the nature of spectacle and the film industry itself.

Boiling point – Philippe Barantini

For anyone who has worked in hospitality, you’ll know that nothing feels more vital than a crowded restaurant when you’re understaffed and overworked, and Philip Barantini captures the fear and anxiety of this in his 2021 movie, Boiling point.

Taking place over the course of an evening at a popular London restaurant, Boiling point follows chef Andy Jones as he balances the mounting pressures of his professional and personal life, all of which comes crashing down on the busiest night of the year.

You could say that without this film, people like The bear wouldn’t exist, capturing the constant eruptions of stress and small-scale disasters that keep happening. The kitchen resembles a courtroom, with accusations and arguments swinging left, right and center. There’s always that manager who yells at you for no reason or that customer who goes out of their way to make you feel like the smallest person on the planet, and it’s all captured through the suffocating single shot that transports us through all this. disastrous evening. Much like Hitchcock and his famous analogy of a bomb under a table, Boiling Point has its own bomb, taking the form of a patron with a peanut allergy, which we know will inevitably come to a head eventually. Even though we know it’s going to happen, it only makes us more anxious, crowded among a million other fires demanding our attention.

He creates a performance out of customer service, capturing the heat and sweat of each role as people try to keep up, creating high-stakes entertainment out of an everyday event. It is one of the films that popularized the “angry boss” film genre and gave a new voice to working class people in cinema, with people becoming aware of the horrors happening behind the scenes and of the grueling nature of this situation. work. Because if you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen!

Rope –Alfred Hitchcock

It goes without saying Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense, and without the innovation and genius of his 1948 film Ropethe one-shot genre may not exist at all.

Rope was the first feature film to appear shot in one continuous take, with the director attempting to do it multiple times and struggling to complete the vision. However, if this film does not technically meet the requirements, it is only because the length of a take was limited due to the film cartridges of the time, which had to be refilled every ten minutes. So the director persevered with his vision of replicating this look, but had to put together several shots to do so.

Rope is a perfect thriller about two friends who try to prove they committed the perfect murder by throwing a dinner party for the friends of the person they killed. The suspenseful simulation of being shot in one take makes it even more delicious. Hitchcock performed a daring experiment that was unheard of at the time and is rarely replicated, even today, despite technology that makes it much easier.

It shows Hitchcock at his most innovative, expertly managing to maintain tension throughout the film, even though the audience knows what will happen at the end. It is a masterclass in pacing, editing and cinematography and remains to this day as a triumph of cinema in all that it inspired and achieved.

Irreversible – Gaspar Noé

Irréversible is not a film intended for pleasure, and just like Utoya: July 22^sdit is designed to attack your senses and confront you with the horrors of the world, hammering home the urgency of the issues it explores. It takes place over the course of one evening, documenting the events that led to an act of violence but told in reverse, starting at the end of the film and working painfully back to the beginning, taking us on a horrific odyssey through the consequences of sexual violence. and the daily microaggressions that allow these atrocities to occur.

Although it was dismissed by many, with Noé criticized for his extreme use of violence, the single take never lingers or enjoys the view of what is happening – it only adds to the inevitability of this violence and how its dominant presence in daily life makes it almost inevitable. Noé criticizes the misogynistic conditioning that happens to many men, a mindset that slowly seeps into and out of every aspect of society, showing that every act of violence, lack of respect and manner flippant and demeaning talk about women is inseparable from the larger problem, that they are all part of the problem. And when our complicity in these things results in another act of violence, the effect is irreversible and ruins someone’s life. The film opens with a quote saying, “Time destroys all things,” and by filming it in a single take, it highlights the brutality and urgency of the message and how, in the end, your time spent watching the movie will have destroyed you. .

Although the film is probably the worst thing you’ve ever seen, Noé calls attention to something horrible in the best way he knows how – creating something confrontational that’s meant to disgust us in a way so monumental in seeing it displayed on our screen, that we realize that it is actually happening in real life.

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