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< Back American Fiction ventures outside the box of trauma-centered Black stories 3 Arts Entertainment, 2023 117 minutes Director/Writer: Cord Jefferson Reading Time: 6 minutes American Fiction Imaginative Play (9Y87OES1SQCQILFR) 00:00 / 05:45 📷 : Licensed from Shutterstock Chamomile: Family dramas Ginger: Thought-provoking movies and TV shows Chris Chaisson 2023-12-22 “Boyz in the Hood, Menace II Society, 12 Years a Slave, Roots, all have impacted me in profound and beautiful ways. They are parts of our story; they are not the totality of our story. So the idea sometimes if we tell these stories over and over again, the mainstream public thinks that that’s the totality of who we are. So when they meet somebody that doesn’t fit into that particular box, they tend to say ‘Oh you’re not like black black. You’re different; you know, you don’t talk the way black people talk.’ Really? ‘Cause I’m black, and this is how I’m talking. So the desire to see a plethora of our experiences, to have our humanity fully shared, is something that is not just good for us; it’s good for the world…” –Sterling K. Brown to Shanelle Genai of The Root . Directed by Cord Jefferson, American Fiction follows Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright, The Batman ), an ornery professor and novelist who returns home to the metro Boston area to visit his estranged family after being let go by his university. Monk finds himself disgruntled with the state of the publishing world, as the novels getting the most acclaim cater to tired stereotypes of how black Americans speak and behave, as well as the struggles they must overcome that are always tied to their skin color. Desperate to bring more attention to his own work, he pens a story perpetuating such narratives as a joke, hoping to prove a point about the need for stories not rooted in black trauma. Instead, his book, authored under a pseudonym with a criminal background, is embraced and bolstered by its publishers. This forces him to continue the charade, as the popularity of what began as a satirical work skyrockets. The above synopsis highlights American Fiction ’s “A story,” often referred to in sitcom circles as the “Big Lie.” This trope occurs frequently in such TV shows, where a character makes up a spontaneous lie to get out of trouble. The character then goes to greater and greater lengths to maintain the lie as more people become involved and the consequences increase tenfold. If you’ve seen any trailers for American Fiction , you know that this is mainly the premise that the film presents to entice viewers to the box office. The film plays up this comedic thread to much success, inducing several belly laughs from its audience with absurdist humor. For instance, Monk’s initial envy is sparked by the novel of a contemporary named Sintara (Issa Rae, Insecure ), whose bestselling book is entitled We’s Lives in Da Ghetto . Monk lends a similarly goofy name to his own work before upping the ante later in the film. While setting up this A story, the film very shrewdly brings in its more substantive B story: Monk’s complicated relationship with his family. Having a brother and a sister, played by Sterling K. Brown ( This is Us ) and Tracee Ellis Ross ( Black-ish ), Monk learns upon his visit home of family secrets, financial troubles, and health concerns. In the midst of being a frustrated novelist with somewhat petty gripes, he must process all of the new information and be the rock for his family, along with fostering his relationship with a new love interest. As it pokes fun at the prevalence of stories displaying black Americans as a suffering monolith, American Fiction simultaneously ushers in a tale that delivers exactly what the protagonist argues is lacking from modern storytelling. What elevates the film even further is its ability to push back on its own thesis. While the film highlights the dearth of more humane, multi-dimensional stories revolving around black characters, it does not dismiss the value of stories that exist within that monolith either. This becomes abundantly clear when Monk’s love interest utters to him, “Sooner or later, you have to realize that being unable to relate to people is not a badge of honor.” Ultimately, Monk’s disdain for the stories of his contemporaries is tied not just to his moral compass but also his elitism and insecurity. His works are not as popular as he feels they should be, and he criticizes others as one of many ways to shield himself from the pain of rejection. The inner struggle plays out again later in a heated conversation with Sintara about her novel. Naturally, this characteristic carries over into other areas of his life as well. Several subtler themes permeate the film, including how white guilt often operates in academic circles. The movie opens with Monk going back and forth with a white student who objects to covering a book with a racial slur in the title. She expresses her discomfort and disapproval of the word, and Monk replies, “If I got over it, you can too.” His blunt communication eventually prompts her to leave the classroom in tears, for which he is later held responsible. The scene pokes fun at the notion of valuing comfortability over honest discourse, a frequent occurrence in the discussion of social issues. Later on, as Monk pitches a ridiculous title for his book to publishers over the phone, they go along with it rather than pushing back or drawing a hard line in the sand. While the responses of these characters seem over-the-top, they are grounded in the reality of an unwillingness to offend resulting in naïve or disingenuous stances. A similar movie dealing with a frustrated writer’s quest for validation could be the earlier 2023 release You Hurt My Feelings , starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Her character is less scorned by the industry as a whole and more so by her supportive husband’s negative review. Another film with a like-minded premise is the 2000 stage play-adapted drama Chinese Coffee , in which Al Pacino and Jerry Orbach play unsuccessful writers who argue over the latest book that Pacino’s character has written. While neither deal with the larger scope of the publishing world, both, along with American Fiction , depict pretentiousness and resentment seeping into the minds of individuals in what can be a challenging, lonely profession. Already a Golden Globes nominee and festival favorite, American Fiction delivers on providing a less often-told story of black existence, while still including elements of more popular works. Its characters experience pain and suffering, but they also love, laugh and celebrate together. The film’s ability to show the full range of human emotion highlights the rarity of such stories. To Sterling K. Brown’s quote, such work benefits not just black audiences but all consumers. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

The After highlights children’s intuition < Back The After highlights children’s intuition Neon Films, 2023 18 minutes Director/Writer: Misan Harriman / John Julius Schwabach and Misan Harriman Reading Time: 4 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Netflix The After A Dark Past (WYJRMRUKNMDQSZB1) 00:00 / 04:01 Dandelion Movies/shows with heavy subjects Chris Chaisson 2024-02-06 Many of us believe that when we lose one of our senses, the others grow stronger. In the same way, younger children, due to their underdeveloped verbal communication skills, possess stronger nonverbal abilities and even an intuition of how others feel. As adults, we are frequently too distracted with our own problems and responsibilities to recognize a grieving person in front of us. Just the same, we can often be too desensitized or callous to care even when we do. In this sense, adolescents have an advantage over us, still having empathy and observational skills that have not dulled or hardened from life experience. Misan Harriman’s Oscar-nominated short film, The After , hints at this reality over the course of its 18 minutes. David Oyelowo ( Selma ) plays Dayo, a loving husband and father whose world is turned upside down after a stabbing attack that cost him his family. A year later, his career as a businessman is a distant memory, and he works as a rideshare driver while still grieving the sudden, tragic loss he’s endured. Dayo is not without a support system, as many friends call to check up on him, but he has trouble responding and keeping up with his grief counseling appointments. Over the course of a typical day, he provides rides to numerous strangers in London and becomes numb to the conversations occurring in his backseat. Most of his customers are adults who are either conversing with each other, arguing, or on their phones. Though unspoken, it is clear from Dayo’s demeanor that he is repressing a lot of his still unprocessed emotions in order to put on a face for his job. One day, a bickering couple and their silent child pile into his backseat for a ride home. The child sits in the middle, clearly affected by her parents arguing. However, she observes Dayo’s body language and facial expressions as he drives. When they arrive, the parents exit the car and head up their front steps, but the child remains in the car. Dayo asks her if she’d like to get out and go inside, to which she reluctantly obliges. However, before heading up the steps, she turns around and hugs him from behind. The parents, still wrapped up in their own argument, suddenly turn and run down to pry their child off Dayo as he falls to the ground sobbing. They leave him on the sidewalk, where he continues crying before pulling himself together and driving off. The After ’s opening sequence is jarring and tragic enough to make Dayo a sympathetic character for the rest of its duration. However, the interesting aspect of the short film is its display of children’s intuition. Despite all of the adult passengers Dayo has in his car, none seem to acknowledge or read him at all; to them, he is somewhat invisible. The first pair of passengers make this reality evident, as the father brags about his son’s soccer accomplishments while the son tells his dad that Dayo probably does not want to hear it. Being polite, Dayo denies any disinterest, even though deep down the conversation is white noise to him. What eventually cracks him open is the child of the bickering parents, who very clearly resembles his own deceased daughter. Often, films depicting a grieving parent begin after the death has already occurred. Witnessing the sudden and violent nature of his family’s death puts the rest of The After into perspective. In particular, it is easy to become detached from the grieving of other adults, as we not only hear about so much bad in the world but witness it for ourselves. Sometimes, it takes the innocence of a young, attentive soul to recognize another person’s hurt and reach out. The After reminds its audience that although we do not typically think of children as the teachers, sometimes it is good to follow their example. Available on Netflix Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

I Love That for You shows that very little is as it seems < Back I Love That for You shows that very little is as it seems Annapurna Television, 2022 30 minutes Creator: Vanessa Bayer and Jeremy Beiler Reading Time: 6 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Showtime I Love That for You Tell Dem (69KYUSWZ9TT2H6U9) 00:00 / 07:04 Jasmine Movies and TV shows with heart, positive vibes, and warm messages Peach Movies and TV shows with a springtime feel or with images of the season Reba Chaisson 2023-05-04 The 1971 hit song, “Whatcha See is Whatcha Get” is about a man convincing his lover that unlike her past loves, he is for real. The medium tempo, soulful song by The Dramatics consists of lyrics penned by songwriter Anthony Hester, and begin something like this: Some people are made of plastic Some people are made of wood Some people have hearts of stone Some people are up to no good But baby, I’m for real. I’m as real, as real can get While this might be a bit dramatic (pun intended), you get the point. Things are not always as they seem, and the storyline and characters in the television series, I Love That for You , are strong evidence of this hard truth. I Love That for You depicts behind-the-scenes drama at the Special Value Network or SVN, a home shopping network enterprise. The business is headed by Patricia, a sharply dressed and dictatorial 60-something who founded the successful company. Typically, controlling bosses unwittingly work against themselves,alienating their employees with clear-cut directives and leaving no room for discussion. But this is not the case in this brightly lit series full of quirky characters. Put another way, Patricia, played by Jenifer Lewis, is a strong hands-on leader with skills at negotiating lucrative deals that keep SVN competitive and viable. Closest to her are Darcy Leeds, her smart and loyal assistant played by Matt Rogers ( Fire Island, Shrill ), and Jackie, Patricia’s 50-something best friend played by Molly Shannon ( Other People , Scary Movie 4 ), who is the most successful seller at the network for the past 30 years. While containing some funny moments, warm friendships, and lightly competitive workplace relationships, the show still holds some serious, thought-provoking moments that seem aimed at demystifying several long-held ideas about who people are and the range of their talents and capabilities. One example of this is the idea that life is over at 60-something. Though very serious and controlling, 60-something year-old Patricia is far from one-dimensional, as she is sexually active and particularly enjoys the company of younger Black men. In her words, “What are you saving your vagina for?” Indeed, Patricia is reminiscent of Lady Eloise, Eartha Kitt’s character in the 1992 film Boomerang , where she regularly pursued and seduced men much younger than herself. Like Lady Eloise, Patricia is wealthy and independent, even giving parting gifts to her lovers after their one-night rendezvouses. Despite Patricia being a big part of the series, I Love That for You centers on Joanna, an early 30-something who survived childhood leukemia and still lives under the protective wings of her parents. This is evidenced by her limited social skills (stale jokes, clothes and pajamas with characters, animals and fruits), lack of intimate experience with a partner, and living at home with her parents – who, frustratingly for her, still view her as “sick” despite being cancer-free for 20 years. Fascinated by SVN and Jackie in particular since she was a child, Joanna, played by Vanessa Bayer of Saturday Night Live fame who is also creator of the series, auditions for an on-air role and gets the job. When Patricia asks her “What story are you selling?”, during her first team meeting, she gives an emotionally immature response. Annoyed and unamused, Patricia asks experienced sellers the same – all of whom humorously articulate keen awareness of their on-air identities. Posing the question again to her new employee, Joanna, desperate to keep her job, belts out “I have cancer.” This sudden schtick conjures sympathy not only from Joanna’s colleagues, but also her shopping audience, making her a highly successful seller at SVN. But to what degree can Joanna keep up the lie about her fictitious cancer diagnosis? Storytelling is at the center of selling and perhaps I am being cynical, but many if not most of them are lies. This one is a big one though. Unseemly. It can even be viewed as making light of and profiting off the pain and suffering of people whose lives have been turned inside out by a word some find difficult to say aloud, so choosing to abbreviate it instead as “the C word.” The thing about telling lies is it warrants keeping up the facade, usually by telling more and bigger lies to do so. Finally, when the lie is told so much, it risks overshadowing the identity of the person who is lying. I Love That for You is largely light and fun, despite containing an element that does not make sense. For example, Joanna never shows signs of experiencing cancer treatments. Her skin color and body size never change, and she even maintains a full head of hair throughout the series. Yet, her colleagues make no mention of this. Each episode, though, does continue to challenge commonsense ideas. Joanna, for example, is presented as naïve and innocent but she is a big liar. Beth Ann, a self-identified Iranian woman played by Ayden Mayeri, is depicted as competitive, spiteful, and full of lust, when Iranian women are typically represented as covered and wholesome. Perry, another on-air talent played by Johnno Wilson who presents as effeminate, enjoys sex with women as well as men because “f***ing is f***ing.” And while confident and successful, Jackie carries some deep secrets that suggest she is not as okay as she seems. Even Patricia does not escape this, as while controlling, she demonstrates that she is also intensely passionate. Suffice it to say that very little is as it seems in this series, which is likely what creators Vanessa Bayer and Jeremy Beiler intended. In addition to entertaining, the show reveals the depth and breadth of people across race, gender, and age categories, as if to implore the audience to avoid judging a book by its cover. There are scenes in I Love That for You that recall the fun of Boomerang and the poignancy of the television series, How to Get Away with Murder . The diversity and quirkiness of the characters add to the series’ entertainment value and broad appeal. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Righteous Thieves is an entertaining vehicle for showing others care about the travesties of the Holocaust Broken English Productions, 2023 91 minutes Director/Writer: Anthony Nardolillo / Michael Corcoran Reading Time: 4 minutes Righteous Thieves Turning the Tide (CCXHKP61WIO812WI) 00:00 / 05:12 📷 : Licensed from Shutterstock Masala Chai Movies and TV shows about toughness and athletic competition White Movies and TV shows that make you laugh, or involve urgency, like chase scenes or other physical activity Reba Chaisson 2023-03-28 Quite often, we feel our stories are isolated, that no one cares about them but us. While it can sometimes seem difficult to find a sympathetic audience, there is indeed such an audience. Occasionally, we must figure out how to navigate to them and present our stories in ways that elicit empathy. This is apparently what happened with 20-something year-old Annabel in 1985, when 60-something year-old Josef catches her breaking into his Los Angeles home and rather than shooting her, makes a deal with her. I say apparently because the film then cuts to present-day, where Annabel is the head of an all-male Jewish syndicate focused on recovering art, jewelry, and other property stolen by Nazis during the Holocaust in Anthony Nardolillo’s Righteous Thieves . This cut in the movie remains problematic for me because it robs the film of a much-needed emotional element. Clearly, Annabel, played by Lisa Vidal ( Being Mary Jane , The Event ), has dedicated her life to Josef’s cause, which suggests he had quite the effect on her. But what was that like? What conversations did they have? How did their bond develop over the subsequent years – and for how many years? Ultimately, I need to see this relationship unfold – not be told about it through a line from Annabel here and there throughout the film. The absence of this essential element made the film feel inauthentic. Despite the absence of this emotional element, Righteous Thieves is nonetheless an entertaining story about a team of mostly longtime friends coming together to recover valuable paintings stolen from the Jewish community by Nazis during the Holocaust. Led by Annabel, the friends consist of one White and four Hispanic persons combining their safe-cracking, high-tech, and fighting talents to infiltrate the highly secure facility where the items are stored. While 60 Minutes , CBS News , and PBS segments typically focus on institutions and private collectors (Nazis and their heirs) in Europe, Righteous Thieves targets a German holder in upscale Los Angeles who brags to even casual acquaintances about his expensive collection of paintings. As I wrote in my review of Your Honor , good dramatic villains do not call attention to themselves. Denzel Washington’s character in American Gangster was livid that his girlfriend’s gift to him in the form of a white fur coat brought him the unwanted attention of authorities, who until then had no clue about him. The villain in Righteous Thieves , Otto, played by Brian Cousins ( Greenlight , Southland ), brings to mind his counterpart in Bad Boys II, who was neither menacing nor scary; just a bully bolstered by the millions from his ill-gotten gains. In one scene in a nightclub, a drink is spilled on Otto’s phone and out of frustration, he throws it at his bodyguard and yells “Clean it up, clean it up!” This lack of composure is uncharacteristic of an ominous villain. A villain that engages in silly, random, and over-the-top things disrespects audience members, making it difficult for them to buy into the movie. Believable antagonists such as the ones in American Gangster , the original Beverly Hills Cop and even the original Bad Boys are cool, menacing, and thus, scary. They show the audience what they are capable of doing and how far they will go to get what they want. Otto fell far, far short of this bar. While lacking the authenticity of emotion and a menacing antagonist, Righteous Thieves is entertaining and brings up a major theme that rings quite true. It demonstrates that people other than those of Jewish background care deeply about the travesties of the Holocaust and feel strongly that stolen assets should be returned to their rightful owners forthwith. The film reminds me of the television series, Leverage , that ran from 2008-2012, where the team of two women and three men frequently used advanced technology, costumes, and slick fighting to infiltrate high society in order to recover items or expose truths. Played by Timothy Hutton, Nathan Ford led the team with the impetus of gaining leverage for their clients who rarely had any due to their lack of money or class status. Righteous Thieves is quite similar in substance and entertainment value. The teams of five differed only in ethnic and gender composition and team leader. It would not be surprising if Righteous Thieves morphed into a sequel or two, or perhaps even migrated to television as a series. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Frankie highlights the difficulty of finding your voice and standing up for yourself. < Back Frankie highlights the difficulty of finding your voice and standing up for yourself. Red Seed Films, 2020 11 minutes Director/Writer: James Kautz Reading Time: 2 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Red Seed Films Frankie Skeptical (JNOPSEQC5DDSCMWJ) 00:00 / 02:37 Ginger Thought-provoking movies/shows Dandelion Movies/shows with heavy subjects Chris Chaisson 2022-09-25 “Do you have any idea what it’s like holding back who you really are ‘cause of someone else’s fears?” Frankie opens on the title character, a trans man, crashing his partner’s all-male support group meeting to vent his frustrations at him. The other members treat him with much hostility, as they feel their safe space to heal is being invaded. Though one might assume his scorn is at being rejected, Frankie’s true gripe is over his partner’s refusal to accept his new identity. Amidst the heckles and jeers of the other group members, he recounts the details of the fight that ended their relationship. The meeting serves as a microcosm of many individuals’ emotional experience in the midst of a transition. As they try to find their voice and discover their true identity, they frequently get silenced or shouted down. There is a constant battle to get others to see them as who they are, not who they were. Frankie reveals that to be cruel, his partner dead-named him (a modern term for calling a trans person by the name they used before transitioning). Throughout his soliloquy, his partner will not even look him in the eye, a gesture that would signify acceptance of his change. Director James Kautz does a brilliant job of using sound to create tension. It begins with Frankie in the hall outside the door, debating whether or not to go through with his plan. We can hear the other support group members’ echoing laughter on the other side of the door. Once Frankie enters, silence fills the room, and this contrast conveys their overwhelming discomfort. The group moderator uses a gentle tone, but the other members speak more sharply as they attempt to shoo him away. When Frankie is finally allowed to vent, a non-diegetic, quickening drum pattern accompanies the rise in his anger level before he stands up and yells. The emotional depth of this short may bring to mind feature-length films such as 500 Days of Summer , Juno , or even The Story of Us . All three deal with a drastic change throwing relationship dynamics in flux. We see the protagonists processing their anger and confusion while simply trying to be heard. Available on Film Shortage Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Operation: Cavity makes a strong statement about understanding experiences from a kid’s point of view. < Back Operation: Cavity makes a strong statement about understanding experiences from a kid’s point of view. Silvermine Productions, 2022 18 minutes Director/Writer: Alex Morsanutto Reading Time: 2 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Alex Morsanutto Operation: Cavity Seeing Results (N1PNDA1PEINSBVGA) 00:00 / 02:58 White Movies and TV shows that make you laugh, or involve urgency, like chase scenes or other physical activity Yarrow Movies and TV shows about illness or set in hospitals or similar medical institutions Reba Chaisson 2022-09-25 Operation: Cavity is a comedy about four friends who devise a scheme to get revenge on their dentist for the years of filled cavities, pulled teeth, and awkward x-rays. It is a short, hilarious film that packs a big punch, with multiple settings and bright aesthetics that bring back memories of childhood films like The Sandlot , The Bad News Bears , and Mighty Ducks . The exquisite cinematography and continual movement of the story time-travels us to the days when we were 10 and 11 years old: loyal to our friends and doing goofy stuff like challenging people—knowing we would get our butts kicked. Indeed, the inciting event of Operation: Cavity occurs when Douglas, played by Jonathan O’Reilly, gets clobbered while standing up for his friend Timmy, played by Declan Foley. Doug’s subsequent visit to the dentist brilliantly presents the experience from his vantage point, with bright lights, whizzing tools, and intimidating instruments—and care providers. Something so necessary appears nonetheless quite daunting, if not traumatic, through Doug’s eyes. As far as he and his friends are concerned, the dentist exists to inflict pain. Realizing what a visit to a medical provider looks and feels like from a child’s point of view may take some audience members aback. The experience is quite scary, and the procedures are seen as assaultive rather than caring acts. They are traumatizing rather than calming. And dental work amounts to punishment for a crime they didn’t commit. This is sure to motivate adults to consider ways to mitigate children’s anxieties around what they see as “the dreaded visit to the dentist,” with more comforting words offered by providers, perhaps. Permitting parents/guardians into the room for procedures and allowing children headphones so they can listen to the music of their choice may also help. Made as a proof of concept for a young adult TV series, director Alex Morsanutto's short film conveys strong themes about what friendship means to pre-adolescents and the importance of appreciating experiences from a child’s perspective. The fact that the cast is age-, gender-, and racially-diverse adds an inclusive element to this relatable work of art. Available on Film Shortage Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Getting Up Close and Personal with Crawdads and Vengeance A look at how film informs our perspective Reba Chaisson 11/4/22 Reading Time: 11 minutes 📸: Licensed from Shutterstock I don’t think we consider enough what film teaches us about ourselves and the circumstances of people with whom we have little sustained contact. Vengeance and Where the Crawdads Sing ( Crawdads ) are two films that accomplish this, taking us out of our comfort zones and bringing the unfamiliar up-close and personal. Crawdads follows Kya, a girl who is abandoned by her family in the 1950s and grows up alone on their land in a North Carolina marsh. When the restless 8-year-old ventures into nearby Barkley Cove for school, the town’s privileged adults hurl names at her like “Marsh Girl” while the children tease her for lacking shoes and suitable outfits for school. Traumatized by the treatment, Kya withdraws to shield herself from the sting, minimizing even casual encounters with anyone but her shadow. Destitute, she makes a life for herself in the marsh without the help of formal schooling, family, or even neighbors. She trusts less than a handful of people, two of them being Jumpin’ and Mabel. Played by Sterling Macer Jr. ( Double Take , BAB ) and Michael Hyatt ( The Little Things , Snowfall ), respectively, the congenial Black couple own the General Store in town and support the young girl with clothing and food. Kya also comes to trust Tom Milton, a kindly older lawyer, played by David Strathairn ( The Bourne Ultimatum , Godzilla ). In her seemingly endless days, weeks, months, and years of solitude, Kya, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones ( Normal People , Under the Banner of Heaven ), evolves into a naturalist, making beautifully detailed drawings of shells, and documenting the different species of birds and insects along with their habits. As she grows into a young adult and yearns for intimate relationships, she opens her heart to Tate, played by Taylor John Smith ( Cruel Intentions , You Get Me ) and slowly begins to discover what it feels like to be connected to people beyond her tiny circle, to learn what it feels like to love, be loved, and all that it means. But when a popular guy in town is found dead in a well-known hangout in the marsh, Kya is conveniently accused of his murder and the people in town unhesitatingly accept that “the Marsh Girl did it.” While Crawdads focuses on the life and travails of a young woman, Vengeance centers on Ben, a 30-something budding journalist from New York City. The inciting incident occurs when Ben receives news of the sudden death of Abilene Shaw, a woman from rural Texas with whom he had a one-night stand during her visit to the Big Apple. When her distraught brother, Ty, calls with the news, Ben initially struggles to remember her, and even when he does, he expresses only obligatory condolences rather than the genuine sense of sadness expected by her brother. Confused as to why he received a call at all, Ben, played by B.J. Novak ( The Office , Inglourious ), quickly learns that Abilene led her family to believe he was her fiancée. When Ty, played by Boyd Holbrook ( In the Shadow of the Moon , The Predator ), coerces him into coming to Texas for the funeral, Ben stays and writes a story about southern rural life, under the guise of helping the family find the person responsible for Abilene’s death and getting “retribution.” In his half-hearted effort to get answers from authorities, Ben becomes flabbergasted and exhausted as none appear committed to investigating Abilene’s death, let alone finding out who is responsible for dumping her body in an oil field where, conveniently, jurisdiction is unclear. Resigning himself to the reality that the case will never be solved, Ben returns to what was always his priority—writing his story. Crawdads and Vengeance are released at an interesting time in the U.S., when the states are segmented into red or blue and the language used to assess and even describe the phenomenon is largely negative (i.e. separate, divided). Like labeling, the consequences for this are prejudgments and deepening antagonisms about the people in each segment, affecting our ability to view them as residents of the same country or even as situated in a culture that is unique to each state. Perhaps the stories in these films will blur the lines a bit, encourage us to see what we have in common and still appreciate the uniqueness of our lived experiences. It is also interesting that these two independent films landed in mainstream theaters. If released at all, films centering Whites in rural areas of the South typically feature characters who are passively ridiculed in a short-lived cut or portrayed one-dimensionally as villainous because something went quite awry in their lives. Ironically, Ben is presented as the oddity in Vengeance, as he missteps the culture of a rodeo event and later has a meltdown because he cannot get the answers to what he views as simple questions for his story. In stark contrast, for the Shaw family, it ain’t that serious; it just is. Sociology teaches that you cannot understand a person without engaging him or her. In the case of a community, you cannot understand it without becoming a part of it. Some of the best research is conducted by engaging people and becoming a part of communities (Read Nickel and Dimed by the late Barbara Ehrenreich.). The engagement—questions, conversations, immersion in the culture—is meant to learn about people given their everyday circumstances, not as tools for manipulating and shaping their world views. This learning takes more than a minute, an hour, or even a day. Rather, it takes weeks, months, and sometimes even years. Ben’s effort to exploit the Shaws for a story and shape them into viewing the world through his eyes (i.e. expressing themselves in ways he understands them, and believing they are missing out by not being connected to urban life as he is) speaks volumes about how our biases shape who we are. They also speak to how, at times, we consciously or unconsciously view ourselves as more accepted, normal, or in some way better than others. From this vantage point, we (intentionally or not) impose constraints on others, stripping away their humanity and treating them as outsiders. We also see this in Crawdads , when Kya is indicted for murder and the other citizens are convinced, without evidence, that “the Marsh girl” did it. This label and Kya’s lack of connection to the influential people in town who had effectively relegated her to the marsh, allows for objectifying and dehumanizing her. This influences the attitudes and actions of authorities and other townspeople toward Kya, making it seem perfectly logical to believe she committed the crime. At the risk of being redundant, it fascinates me that these two films that do a wonderful job humanizing Whites in rural areas of the South landed in mainstream theaters. Classified as a comedy/mystery, Vengeance falls on some obvious stereotypes of Whites in rural areas. But the development of the characters over the 107 minutes allows us to see the Shaws as people rather than the typical cinematic caricatures of Whites in the Deep South. Crawdads , a drama/mystery film, provides a singular laser-focused glimpse into the life of a girl abandoned by her family at a very young age and forced to grow up alone, living off the land. In presenting these circumstances and her ostracism by the people in town, the film humanizes her and even tugs at the audience’s heart strings. I wonder, though, if these are still viewed as one-off portrayals. Much has been written on the power of film representations in shaping our perspective. In a 2017 interview with the Huffington Post , Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón who now heads the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at UCLA states, “What you see [on film] often becomes a part of your memory and thus a part of your life experience.” Will audience members come away from these stories with an informed perspective about people in rural areas of the South, or will they soon dismiss the depictions as atypical and not representative of Whites in the Deep South? In films where White characters from rural areas are ridiculed or portrayed as criminally defective (i.e. Deliverance , Winter’s Bone , Mud ), we don’t typically walk away viewing Whites as a group in these ways. This is largely due to the preponderance of “normal” middle-class Whites in the film and television images we see. Thus, White representations that deviate from these depictions are dismissed as one-offs—oddities, expendables, a glimpse of people who just “don’t fit,” “don’t matter,” and “aren’t relevant.” I still wonder, hope maybe, that the representations in Crawdads and Vengeance will take up space in our memories, even if just a little, to influence the way we think about people in these regions. I also wonder if viewers’ ideas about racial identity will begin to turn over in their heads. If Vengeance and Crawdads did not center Whites, one might think the subjects in the films were people of color in the U.S. Had they been, I wonder if we would have exited the theaters with our biases confirmed or challenged about these groups. Author Florentine Bakkenes writes in her 2022 Diggit Magazine article , that “The media people consume, the movies they watch, and the television series they follow, are not just entertainment, it also has an impact on the way people think and view other people.” In her 2018 New York Times article on what film teaches her about being a woman, film critic Manohla Dargis writes, “There isn’t a causal relationship between viewer behavior and the screen. There doesn’t have to be. Because movies get into our bodies, making us howl and weep, while their narrative and visual patterns, their ideas and ideologies leave their imprint.” In Crawdads and Vengeance , the characters are normal and/or heroic ones that display the depths of their humanity. They are loving, caring, funny, rude, smart, not-so-smart, good, bad, and all the gray areas in between. If the Shaws were Black and Kya was Latina, would this tickle viewers' sensibilities about the depth and breadth of the humanity of Blacks and Hispanics as a whole? I love these films and my eyes watered as I left the theaters (particularly for Vengeance ), because these were stories that needed to be told. Whites in rural areas are rarely centered and humanized in film, but Crawdads and Vengeance do a wonderful job of changing this trend. Having said this, I look forward to seeing similar cinematic presentations centering underrepresented people of color. Vengeance brings to mind the film, Wind River , which is about the death of a Native American woman on a reservation in Wyoming and the reluctance of federal authorities in working the case. As in Vengeance , law enforcement was not interested in investigating the death of a woman of poor background in a rural area. Where the Crawdads Sing is reminiscent of the 1972 film, Sounder , starring Kevin Hooks as David Lee and the late and great Cicely Tyson as Rebecca. Set in the Deep South in the 1930s, the film is about Nathan Lee (played by Paul Winfield), a Black sharecropper who is wrongfully jailed for a crime he did not commit. I still remember the poignant scene where a sheriff’s deputy used a knife to cut holes into the beautifully frosted chocolate cake meant for Nathan, as his 10-year-old son David helplessly watched a symbol of his mother’s love for her husband be destroyed. My recollection of the details of these films reinforces the point that film “imprints” itself, teaching us something about who we are and the circumstances of people with whom we have little if any sustained contact. While what we glean from the lessons vary depending upon our vantage point, experiences, and knowledge of the past, the depictions of people and circumstances have the power to inform, thus shaping our perspective. Sometimes film confirms our views and other times, its stories and depictions challenge them. In either case, good or bad, welcome or not, we are learning something. References Bakkenes, F. (2022). Diversity and Representation in TV and Movies and Why it Matters. Diggit Magazine . https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/diversity-and-representation-tv-and-movies-and-why-it-matters Boboltz, S and Yam, K. Why On-Screen Representation Actually Matters. The Huffington Post . https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-on-screen-representation-matters_n_58aeae96e4b01406012fe49d Boorman, J. (Director). (1972). Deliverance [Film]. Elmer Enterprises. Dargis, M. (2018). What the Movies Taught Me About Being a Woman. The New York Times . https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/30/movies/women-in-movies.html Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed . Metropolitan Books. Granik, D. (Director). (2010). Winter’s Bone [Film]. Anonymous Content. Newman, O. (Director). (2022). Where the Crawdads Sing [Film]. Columbia Pictures. Nichols, J. (Director). (2012). Mud [Film]. Everest Entertainment. Novak, B. J. (Director). (2022). Vengeance [Film]. Blumhouse Productions. Ritt, M. (Director). (1972). Sounder [Film]. Radnitz/Mattel Productions. Sheridan, T. (Director). (2017). Wind River [Film]. Acacia Filmed Entertainment. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Win by Two uses heavy symbolism to highlight a heavy topic < Back Win by Two uses heavy symbolism to highlight a heavy topic Flightsuit Productions, 2020 13 minutes Director/Writer: Abraham Felix / Milo Daemgen and Abraham Felix Reading Time: 3 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Abraham Felix Win by Two Power (RQDBWUHFLURJQJZK) 00:00 / 03:46 Masala Chai Movies/shows about toughness and athletic competition Ginger Thought-provoking movies/shows Chris Chaisson 2022-10-09 In recent years, culture critics and advocacy groups have traced many social issues back to toxic masculinity. It remains a controversial topic due to conflicting opinions about which behaviors fall under this umbrella, but the concept affects men and women from seemingly every community. Feelings on the topic often vary by generation or political leanings. Nonetheless, toxic masculinity manifests itself most blatantly in athletic competition. Coaches, parents and teammates pressure young athletes to not show pain, weakness or sometimes even basic sportsmanship. This phenomenon is the central theme of Abraham Felix’s powerful short, Win by Two . Win by Two opens with Jalil, the lanky protagonist, practicing jump shots in an empty gym while we hear voice-overs of his mother Sylvia, providing advice and well wishes. Her reassurance immediately tells the audience that Jalil is preparing for something important and also has a support system. Soon after, Frank, an intimidating basketball scout, walks in with Kevin, Jalil’s competition. Frank is gracious in his introduction, as is Kevin, but he then pivots to analytical mode as he sizes Jalil up. We can clearly see that Kevin is bigger and stronger, so Jalil will have to rely on his quickness and skill. Frank states the terms of the one-on-one game and lets Jalil and Kevin go at it. After Jalil gets off to a good start, Kevin gets physical, causing Jalil to appeal to Frank. We see a drastic shift in Frank’s demeanor, as he relies on old-school, tough-nosed coaching tactics. Frank speaks of separating boys from men, challenging and even insulting Jalil until he backs Kevin down and throws an elbow to score a bucket. Frank looks appeased while Kevin examines the blood seeping from his face. Though surrounding a simple one-on-one game of hoops, Win by Two is chock full of symbolism, largely seeking to highlight the effects of toxic masculinity on the mindsets of young men. While athletic competition requires having an edge to excel, many coaches and authority figures use bullying tactics to rile up their players. The short illustrates this through the contrasting instructions of Sylvia and Frank. With the nurturing advice of his mother, Jalil works strictly on his skill and remains cordial to both Frank and Kevin. Once challenged to “be a man,” he becomes more aggressive, culminating in a somewhat dirty move that injures his opponent. The blood running down Kevin’s face signifies the common and overwhelming result of toxic masculinity: violence. Win by Two also echoes the ambiguity around how to properly tackle toxic masculinity, as it is rooted in a very primal instinct. No matter how much we evolve, human beings hold on to behaviors and biases deeply ingrained over generations that, frankly, lead to success in certain areas of life. However, these same behaviors can leave young men lacking empathy for one another, paving the way for catastrophic results. Win by Two serves as a reminder to authority figures to motivate adolescents, but always leave room for compassion. Available on Film Shortage Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

Life After presents a short story with a big screen feel < Back Life After presents a short story with a big screen feel Evolve Studios, 2021 25 minutes Director/Writer: Jesse Edwards Reading Time: 4 minutes 📷 : Used with permission, Evolve Studios Life After Pawnbroker 00:00 / 04:30 Ginseng Suspenseful and intense thrillers Ginger Thought-provoking movies/shows Reba Chaisson 2024-09-11 Life After is an aptly named film about Police Detective Ashley “Ash” Seger, who is struggling to cope after losing her partner and lover. Played by Torri Yates-Orr, Ash offers no response to her boss who tells her to get over it and move on, as if imposing a clock on grieving is realistic. Instead, Ash retreats to her Nashville apartment and takes her frustration out on her core by mad-crunching until she is called into a hostage situation sometime later. Right before heading to the scene, she reluctantly meets her new partner and lead hostage negotiator Detective Matthew Booker (Parker Bradwell of country music trio MAMADEAR). When they arrive on scene, Commander Dax (Mykie Fisher) informs them of a note on the warehouse door with a riddle, a phone number, and the names of three people presumably being held hostage. Perplexed but confident, Booker calls the number, and we are immediately introduced to the story’s complication as the voice on the other end sends chills up our spines. Kidnappers have a pretty monolithic portrayal — deranged, outraged, and out of control, but predictable. However, the male voice on the phone is best described as controlled, rational, and highly educated, far different from the bitter, revenge-driven ramblings of the captors often seen in hostage-taking dramas like Speed and Olympus Has Fallen . In Life After , we are suddenly set in the grips of this story and feel placed at the antagonist’s mercy. Despite the dozens of police, SWAT personnel, automatic weapons, and even a helicopter on scene, we quickly realize that the situation is dire, and the authorities no longer have control over it. Life After looks, feels, and sounds like a big-screen production. So much so that it brings to mind F. Gary Gray’s gritty theatrical release, The Negotiator . The 1998 film stars Samuel L. Jackson as the title character with a reputation for smoothly taking control of what are often volatile situations with lives at risk. What we learn from Jackson’s character is that the key to negotiating is the ability to establish a rapport with your counterpart. So, when Booker is unable to do this by first answering the morbid riddle posed by the kidnapper, Ash reticently and hurriedly interjects with the answer and is suddenly thrust into the middle of the negotiations. Her fragile emotional state suggests she is unprepared for such a heavy responsibility, but she is left with little choice. Her answer to his riddle resonates so strongly with him that he will have it no other way. Indeed, his riddle conveys the sense that he too is reeling from the loss of a loved one. But will this empathy, this connection, be enough to get everyone out of this situation safely? In addition to its sophisticated, big-screen cinematography, writer/director Jesse Edwards infuses the film with timely musical elements by composer Ryan Taubert that enhance the suspense and heighten the intensity of the scenes throughout its 25-minute runtime. At moments during the standoff, for example, the kidnapper imposes time limits on his demands. As the deadlines approach, the tempo and volume of the music rise, increasing the pounding of our hearts and immersing us more and more deeply into the dilemma unfolding on screen. The technique shifts us from the perspective of audience members to feeling like characters in the film, wanting to grab the shirt lapels of the police officers and scream “ANSWER HIM.” This tension also occurs when the authorities consider whether or not to acquiesce to the kidnapper’s demands. The rhythmically steady beats and deep sounds at these moments convey the seriousness of the situations. In an interview , Edwards notes that the film was written and shot in just four weeks. This timeframe is not unusual for short films. What is unusual is the big-screen look and feel of the film, and its use of music. Throughout the movie, I could not help but feel that this production could be lengthened and greenlit as a theatrical release. While the dilemma it presents is a bonus, though, the longer version might just require a resolution. Available on Apple TV Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back The Book of Clarence blends coming-of-age comedy with biblical epic Legendary Entertainment, 2024 129 minutes Director/Writer: Jeymes Samuel Reading Time: 5 minutes The Book of Clarence Enough Said (TFKO7JBQDRJDMZJO) 00:00 / 05:31 📷 : Pixabay White: Movies and TV shows that make you laugh, or involve urgency, like chase scenes or other physical activity Honeybush: Nonfamily dramas with strong adult and/or socioeconomic themes Chris Chaisson 2024-01-29 Full confession: I have a Catholic education up to and through high school. As theology was always a priority, I have seen my fair share of “Bible story” movies, in the days of grainy VCR playback with tracking lines going across the TV. Some were compelling and some were very tedious, but the message was consistently sent to take the depictions very seriously. If you told me then I would be watching Jeymes Samuel’s parody of such epics, I probably…well, I would’ve said that far in the future, I could be doing anything. Nonetheless, The Book of Clarence may ruffle some feathers, but it does provide a little bit of a trip down memory lane and a fair share of chuckles along the way. Clarence, played by the mercurial LaKeith Stanfield ( Sorry to Bother You ), finds himself in a hole after losing a chariot race and totaling the vehicle…that is, someone else’s vehicle. After facing the threat of death if he does not repay Jedidiah (Eric Kofi Abrefa, Fury ), Clarence, along with his best friend Elijah (RJ Cyler, White Boy Rick ) must brainstorm a plan to raise the money. After being laughed out of the room for trying to become the 13 th apostle, Clarence decides to play himself up as a second Messiah, performing “miracles” with the help of his close friends who fake being blind, deaf and paralyzed for several audiences. However, if you’re familiar with the Bible, you know that the “powers that were” did not take kindly to anyone calling themselves the Messiah. Even as he continues to raise money, Clarence must face the scorn and potentially fatal punishment of the authorities. Biblical epics are known to be very serious works, with much of the dialogue pulled verbatim from scriptures. The reasoning for this is fairly simple and obvious: devout members of the Christian faith do not usually take kindly to anything other than the most literal interpretations of the stories in the Bible. Given this context, a film that appears to be poking fun at much of the New Testament is likely to produce a few scowls and some contempt. Clarence himself, at the beginning of the film, does not buy much of what is now scripture, even questioning the Virgin Mary’s (played by Alfre Woodard) story in person. Multiple times, he says, “Oh, okay, so you really believe this.” The notion of a biblical epic starring an atheist is rather humorous on its face, and hijinks ensue due to Clarence’s contempt for the beliefs of others, including his twin brother Thomas, one of the 12 apostles. The Book of Clarence achieves much of its humor from infusing current lingo and behavior into an ancient time period. In one scene, Clarence sucker punches a man getting ready to fight him. When the man says, “You hit me unprovoked,” Clarence shrugs and says, “Hey, look alive.” The film borrows several modern-day phrases, contrasting heavily with the Old English typically uttered in Bible stories. Additionally, the music blends the sounds of traditional hymns with a more modern R&B/Soul taste, using artists such as Kid Cudi, Jorja Smith and D’Angelo. Visually, the costuming and scenery is very much on point for a biblical epic. The one glaring difference is the actors: they’re predominantly black, pretty much unheard of in this genre of movie despite its historical accuracy. The key to all of the movie’s experimentation is the splendid cast, which consists of supporting roles filled by Teyana Taylor, David Oyelowo, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy. Despite the movie’s humorous and at times mocking tone, The Book of Clarence takes a rather drastic turn for the serious in its last 20 minutes. It may be a head-scratcher and even a letdown to viewers who enjoyed the comedic stylings, as it strays so far from the vibe that it spent more than 90 minutes creating. One theory could be that this shift is meant to appease more devoutly religious attendees, who do not get much satisfaction out of seeing their faith be a punchline. If true, a fair counterpoint is that they are surely already pissed off if they attended at all, and there is no point in compromising your ending to appease them. Nonetheless, you may fall anywhere on the spectrum of enjoying the majority of the film, nodding in approval at its resolution, or appreciating it as a whole (or just hating it I guess). The most obvious comparison for Jeymes Samuel’s second feature (his first was The Harder They Fall , also starring Stanfield) is Monty Python’s Life of Brian , the acclaimed 1979 British satire. I will throw in two slightly more recent films of the 1990s, Friday and Baby Boy . Both films had protagonists who, while charismatic, were hard-headed and could not get out of their own way at times. Like Craig (Ice Cube) and Jody (Tyrese Gibson), Clarence finds himself in a world of trouble simply because he refuses to shed his adolescent ways, even at the behest of his love interest. All three protagonists had fiercely loyal best friends and parents who simply wanted them to mature. The Book of Clarence may seem unfocused at times, but it certainly provides a familiar backdrop with a creative twist. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!

< Back Soft and Quiet, Along With 6 Other Movies Shot in One Take A Brief List of Movies Shot in One Continuous Take -- er, Supposedly Chris Chaisson 1/27/23 Reading Time: 9 minutes 📸: Used with Permission, Snollygoster Productions (hello@snollygoster.productions ) I recently watched the Blumhouse indie film Soft and Quiet , which premiered last spring at the SXSW Festival. While the film has too many twists and turns to discuss without spoiling, one noteworthy aspect about the project is how director Beth de Araújo chose to shoot it: all in one take. “Whenever there’s a cut in a film, there’s a sort of inherent exhale where you give the audience a second to catch their breath,” Arajuo said in an interview with SXSW. “And so if you never give them that, they’re feeling the tension a little bit more effectively.” The style of shooting with no cuts or breaks originated over 70 years ago (more on that later), but we rarely see directors incorporate this technique for a variety of reasons. For starters, this approach completely changes the story that the writer crafts. Writers traditionally follow a rule of thumb with their scenes: “Get in late, get out early.” In other words, start the scene at the latest moment possible when the audience can still understand everything, convey the important plot points, then move on to the next scene once all exposition has been delivered. Scripts usually cut anything mundane, even if it is true to real life, to avoid losing the audience’s attention. When directors shoot a film in one take however, they do not have this luxury of compressed time. Additionally, shooting a feature-length film in a single take requires precision with camera and lighting setups, set design, and dialogue memorization that are very difficult to pull off with no break in the action. Thus, what many filmmakers shooting in one take have to do is rehearse ad nauseam before shooting the entire film a handful of times, ideally becoming more comfortable with each rep. The post-production crew will take the best run-through and, if needed, incorporate bits and pieces from other takes before smoothing it over to make it look uninterrupted. Which genres does this style attract? Horror movies and crime thrillers choose the shooting style more so than other genres. Its immersive nature builds more suspense and anxiety in the audience, making it an asset to thrillers and horror. For instance, a hostage or home invasion movie, where you want the audience to experience arrested development, would be movies that may utilize this technique. Here are a handful of such movies spanning several decades that embraced the challenge of presenting a story in one take: Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Best Picture-winner Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) follows washed-up actor Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton) attempting to revive his career by creating and starring in his own stage play. Its use of the one-take method conveys the dizzying state of being a live performer, especially one with a troublesome personal life. In no scene is this more apparent than when Riggan is forced to run through Times Square donning only a pair of whitey-tighties in order to re-enter the theater and continue his performance. While many one-take films attempt a very grounded feel, Birdman dabbles in the surreal, using voiceover narration, pulsating non-diegetic jazz music, and the occasional telekinesis. Oh yeah, and Michael Keaton flying over Manhattan streets in a bird costume. Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu stuck to a very rigorous and meticulous schedule, including both the lines and the blocking of the actors. He stuck mainly to one location and both rehearsed and shot the film in sequence, with very strict lines of dialogue and choreography (McKittrick, Creative Screenwriting ). 1917 1917 surrounds a pair of British lance corporals (Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay) during WWI sent into enemy territory to deliver a message that would halt a planned ambush. Winning multiple Oscars for sound mixing, visual effects and cinematography, the Sam Mendes picture uses its continuous take style to illustrate the very sudden nature of life-and-death situations in a war zone. It is not as graphic and gory as many other war films but nonetheless effectively illustrates that soldiers are never really safe, even in quiet moments. The project was quite a commitment for all actors involved, as they spent 6 months in rehearsal prior to shooting. While the film appears to be one continuous take, Mendes concealed many edits through camera movements behind objects and the occasional black screen (i.e. dirt being kicked up in front of the lens, etc.). Rope Who better to take on a herculean filmmaking task than Alfred Hitchcock? Nicknamed the Master of Suspense, Hitchcock applied the one-take filmmaking aspect to his 1948 project, adapted from a Patrick Hamilton stage play by the same name of nearly 20 years prior. In the adaptation, two students, Brandon and Philip (John Dall and Farley Granger respectively), murder their classmate and hide the body in the same location of their dinner party later that evening. The point of their daredevil tactic is to test the precision for executing the crime. As Brandon’s guilt weighs on him Telltale Heart style, one of their guests, Rupert (Jimmy Stewart) grows suspicious. Shot on 35mm film, Hitchcock had to resort to shooting a series of 10-minute takes and stringing them together due to the technological limitations at that time. As in Soft and Quiet , the camera heightens the effect of big revelations by panning around, zooming in and resting on particular props, such as a gun in one’s pocket, a message on a piece of stationary or a design inside a bowler hat. Silent House Silent House is adapted from an Argentinian horror film titled La Casa Muda . It revolves around Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen), a young woman trapped in her family’s lakeside retreat with an intruder and no way out. Without spoiling the ending, Silent House utilizes the “unreliable narrator” trope and places the audience in Sarah‘s limited perspective, leading to a dark and shocking plot twist. The film doesn’t shy away from the jump scare method through lighting effects (or lack thereof), tight shots and sound mixing. Similar to Rope , Silent House was shot as a series of 10-minute takes edited to appear continuous. Timecode Like the other films on this list, Mike Figgis’ Timecode filmed multiple run-throughs using the one-take style. Unlike the others, this particular selection incorporated a split-screen to show four takes at once. While this sounds like a battle of attrition for one’s attention span, the film foregrounds the audio of the screen that it wants the audience to focus on at any particular point. Timecode tells the story of a jilted lover (Jeanne Tripplehorn) discovering her partner’s (Salma Hayek) infidelity and listening in to a Hollywood production company’s casting call, located in the same place her partner was heading. The initially separate characters eventually intertwine, culminating in a tragic ending. Rather than containing meticulous dialogue and action as the other films on this list chose to do, Timecode consists largely of improvisation, with each actor and actress responsible for their own clothes, hair and makeup. Figgis shot the film fifteen times over the course of two weeks, always as a continuous take. Victoria Sometimes, tourists who trust strangers can get more than they bargained for. Such is the case for the titular character, a twenty-something Spanish woman (Laia Costa) who leaves Madrid for Berlin and runs into a group of friends at a nightclub. After a fun and flirtatious start to the evening, Victoria finds herself coerced into a bank robbery with dire stakes and consequences. As is common in one-take movies, Victoria takes place in real time over one evening. The film contains many emotional swings, as the protagonist goes from guarded to trusting, euphoric to depressed and back multiple times. As Victoria is in every scene, we see the events unfold through her viewpoint. The limited perspective also drives home how loneliness can compromise anyone’s judgment. Like Timecode , Victoria leaned heavily on its actors to improvise, with the original screenplay being just 12 pages long. While other one-take movies use clever editing to smooth out cuts, Victoria was shot as one continuous take three different times during the early morning hours in Berlin. Director Sebastian Schipper watched them all and picked the best run-through. What are the takeaways? For starters, a lot of one-take movies are not actually one take. Editors tend to weave together clips in a way that appears continuous by using black screen, extreme close-ups and stagnant frames as in and out points. Movies meant to appear as one continuous take tend to require a lot of preparation, even relative to other detailed shoots. Some of the movies on this list performed well at the box office while others didn’t. Some received critical acclaim while others did not. The reality is that this style can be a turnoff for moviegoers who see it as a gimmick used to distract from a script’s gaping plot holes. Despite viewers' complaints, one-take movies can be done very well, as evidenced by the critical acclaim and accolades of Birdman , 1917 , and others not on this list. It is yet another cinematic tool that provides directors, crews and cast one of the best things about art: an opportunity to challenge themselves. Previous Next Sign-up for new reviews, exclusives, deep dives, and more First name Last name Enter your email here I agree to the terms & conditions Sign-up Thanks for joining us!