The new thriller film Soft & Quiet was shot in one take, four times in a row, over four consecutive days. The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March to rave reviews, scoring an 86% Rotten tomatoes (opens in new tab).
The film “follows a single afternoon in the life of an elementary school teacher as she organizes a mixer of like-minded women. When the group heads home, the teacher encounters a woman from her past, leading to a volatile chain of events.” The “like-minded” in question? White defenders.
Soft & Quiet is the feature debut of director Beth de Araújo and stars Stefanie Estes, Olivia Luccardi, Eleanore Pienta, Dana Millican and Melissa Paulo. Although the final product is a combination of three days of shooting, the film takes place in real time. Filming started every evening at 6.34pm. and each shot was compressed by about 30 seconds to account for sun time. “We’re just going to film an emotional play for a week like you go Monday through Thursday to your play,” is what de Araujo told her cast (via IndieWire (opens in new tab)).
“On the days of the shoot, I just said, ‘Sleep in, rest, and then we’ll have our safety meeting, showtime, and our meal,'” the director continued. “I would tell everyone to go to the bathroom before we start because no one is going to take a break for about two hours and then we go.”
Similar one shot films in the past include the thriller Victoria, Sam Mendes’ 1917 and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope. Soft & Quiet is set to hit the big screen on November 4. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other one upcoming movies on the horizon, 2022 and beyond.
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