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| Unfriended, a new movie in real time |
Last night I watched two movies that, unbeknownst to me
going in, were films that took place in real time. The first film was Cop Car, a thriller about two young boys
who find an abandoned cop car in the middle of the woods, and do what most young
boys would do in such a situation. The second movie was Unfriended, a digital thriller about a group of millennials who are
harassed online, possibly by the ghost of a girl they bullied to death a year
ago.
But whether or not the movies were good mattered little to
me while watching them. About 20 minutes into each film, I realized with near
certainly that Cop Car and Unfriended were going to be set fully in
real time. And then I was sold. No matter what happened – how the characters were
developed, what twists arose, how it all ended – I was locked in for the duration,
simply because I cherish the real time narrative.
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| Kevin Bacon in Cop Car |
If I hear that a movie takes place in real time, I’ll make
it a point to see it. Doesn’t matter who’s in it, who made it, what it’s about,
or how much it cost, if it’s in real time, I’m there. My fascination with real
time movies runs deep. I appreciate the challenge it takes to
deliver an 83 minute movie, the story of which seemingly takes place in real time,
but was actually shot over the course of 16 days (as was the case for Unfriended). But, most of all, I love the
idea of experiencing a story with the characters of that story, as the story is
actually happening.
Now, like any narrative gimmick, the real time film does not
always produce good results. For every Russian
Ark, there is an 88 Minutes. Many
of the weaker real time efforts fail because the filmmakers rely on the gimmick
as opposed to simply utilizing it. Essentially, the gimmick becomes the film, thereby trumping the
story, which should always be most important. Additionally, if one gimmick film
succeeds, we can expect an obnoxious surge of them for years to come. Paranormal Activity singlehandedly
revitalized the found footage genre, which had been mostly dormant for the decade
prior to its release. The success of Birdman
is bound to reveal a host of One-Take movies over the next few years. Same as Tangerine is destined to provoke
filmmakers to shoot features entirely on their iPhones.
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| The Set-Up, an early, great real time film |
The real time movie, however, has never really gone away.
Hitchcock did it with Rope in 1948,
and Robert Wise followed with The Set-Up
(perhaps the first truly masterful real time film) a year later. In the years since, we’ve gotten a new real time film every few years, and with the
emergence (dominance…?) of films being captured digitally, real time movies are
now easier to pull off than ever.
And to love such a specific type of movie is to make excuse
for films within that genre. Many films that boast themselves as real time movies
often cheat with their time frame. High
Noon, 12 Angry Men, My Dinner with Andre, and Gravity are all typically remembered for
taking place in real time, even though they actually don’t. (Similarly, Birdman was not captured in just one take.)
But who cares? Although those films, like Cop
Car, cheat a little bit with time, they are well made enough that the
effect is not diminished. Unfriended,
on the other hand, belongs to that elite group of films like Russian Ark, Tape, Before Sunset, and Nine Lives in which every second of
screen/real time is accounted for.
Real time movies are my favorite of all gimmick films. Found
footage is tired, and one-take films make me too anxious on first viewing
(“When’s it going to cut? When’s it going to cut? When’s it going to cut?”). I
had no idea that Cop Car and Unfriended took place in real time, and
the fact that I watched them back-to-back by pure coincidence is my idea of complete
and utter cinematic bliss. And hell, in a current entertainment culture that’s
full of remakes and reimaginings and rehashes and rewhatthefuckevers, it’s nice
to be reminded that original, audacious films are always around, waiting to be
discovered. Sometimes even twice in one evening.
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It's good to know that there's some films and filmmakers that will fly under the radar and give you something special. I might check those out.
ReplyDeleteFor sure man. I think you'd appreciate both of these films. Be interested to hear your thoughts.
DeleteI agree, real-time movies are great. I'll definitely check out Unfriended and Cop Car. But this post gave me an idea of a found footage, one-take, real time film (maybe a horror film). Just to test myself.
ReplyDeleteThat'd be a hell of a combo, if someone could pull it off. Let me know what you think of Unfriended and Cop Car.
DeleteI skipped Unfriended because I thought it looked lame, but I've never heard of Cop Car. I might rethink this after reading this post.
ReplyDeleteI really dug it. The entire movie is the computer screen of the main character. That's it. I skipped it in the theater because I thought it sounded lame too. But it really worked for me.
DeleteI didn't know Cop Car was in real time - now I want to see it even more! I agree that the real time gimmick is one of the most interesting. It helps keep up the intensity, although in some cases that fails, as in 88 Minutes like you mentioned. Somehow that 88 minute-long movie became verrrry sloooow.
ReplyDeleteUgh, 88 Minutes is so bad. And it isn't even in real time! They just marketed it that way to get people in the theater. Obviously didn't work very well haha
DeleteWhen I first read the title of your post my first thought was "they need defending?" I was at a loss as to why people would dislike them. After reading I see that wasn't the case.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned some films that are true real time, most prominently Russian Ark. If you haven't seen it you will want to watch Timecode. It not only beat Russian Ark to the punch by a year, but it has FOUR simultaneous films, all longer single shots than Russian Ark, and they interact with each other and have an actual plot, unlike Russian Ark which is concerned not so much with story as it is with the beauty of the Hermitage Museum. Timecode isn't a great film, but it's an interesting gimmick with four simultaneous film streams in the four quadrants of the frame, with the sound alternating among them. It also has a whole bunch of familiar faces among the cast.
I love Timecode. I remember seeing that in the theater and being completely mesmerized. I was 14 years old and had never seen anything like it. It was, however, much easier to follow in the theater, with surround sound. On a TV at home, it becomes a bit of a chore to keep up with it. But hell, I suppose Russian Ark does too, though for different reasons. If we're comparing the two, I'll always prefer Ark, but I do respect the hell out of Timecode.
DeleteGreat post! I haven't seen Unfriended yet but horror is my fav genre so I probably will. The only big experience I have with real time stuff in media is 24 and hell, did that format added excitement to it. And it worked so well in Gravity too but the emotional core of the movie absorbed me so much I didn't even think of it as the real time set movie when I was watching it
ReplyDeleteThanks! Watch Unfriended on a Mac laptop if you have one. I would normally never recommend watching a feature on a laptop, but it makes for such an active viewing experience. Can't wait to hear what you think of it!
DeleteI've only seen a handful of real time flicks and don't remember any of them being that great. That probably has more to do with what I watched than with that particular storytelling device. The best of the few I have seen is Nick of Time with Johnny Depp.
ReplyDeleteNick of Time rocks. I love Walken constantly saying, "Mr. WATson." Such a groovy thriller.
DeleteLocke is a real-time film. It's almost a one-actor film (Tom Hardy speaks on his BMW's car phone to a handful of people while driving through the night from Birmingham to London), and it's fantastic. Hard to even think of how it could have been presented differently.
ReplyDeleteLove that movie. Damn fine film, with a stellar lead performance.
DeleteFavorite part of your post: "rewhatthefuckevers"...I gotta use that! Excellent encapsulation of all that is bad with cinema these days lol
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you, not in terms of the films in question, but on your argument about gimmick as a tool versus a gimmick taking over a film. Looking back, this is the problem I had with a film like Cabin in the Woods. It was gimmicky, and I knew it was from the start, it was apparent from the first moment. The film was self-aware and it never became more interesting than the mere attempt of trying to defy the rules of the horror genre.
Going back to Birdman, I must say I also felt the same. I waited for a cut for the entirety of the piece, and it never came. In addition, I found Birdman extremely self-aware. Everyone involved loved it too much. It was like watching acting porn, when in reality I felt I was only watching a bunch of self-important divas complaining about the fears and tribulations of acting. I know that perhaps this was the all too obvious point of the movie, but I just didn't care for it. I couldn't relate.
Great post as always!
Ha, glad you liked that. That's pretty much how I feel about most big budget movies released today.
DeleteI've heard that argument about Birdman before, and I get it. I loved everything about that film, and definitely think its self awareness was part of its intentional charm, but I can understand why you aren't on board with it.
Excellent write-up! I was on the fence with both films, but I'll definitely give them a look now. Great to see a nod to The Set-Up as well. Such a brilliant, overlooked gem.
ReplyDeleteThanks man! Both of these movies really surprised me, particularly Unfriended. I'm telling you, if you watch that one on your Mac laptop, it's such a surreal experience.
DeleteI really liked the concept of Unfriended, but it was the characters that ruined the film for me. Stupid people making stupid decisions haha.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. I think the horror genre exists because stupid people in those films make stupid decisions. By and large, at least.
Delete