7 Films to Watch if You Couldn’t Get Enough of Adolescence’s One-Shot Episodes

You might have already watched Adolescence, Netflix’s standout British crime mini-series that has been all the rage recently. I was overwhelmed by the intimacy and realism of the show, and especially the acting of newcomer Owen Cooper.

But although the storyline was definitely top-tier, what really made this a must-watch for me was the single-shot aspect. Each episode, from the first second until the last, is shot in one go, with no cuts at all. To be transported through the chaotic scenes and a set that spans a whole neighbourhood, we often have to follow one character as they move around their environment, discovering the world as they do, in real time and real space. I was simply mesmerised as I watched, and although there’s been some recognition about the beauty and complexity of this filmmaking technique, I feel like it hasn’t been talked about enough.

You’re in luck, though, because I’m introducing you to a whole bunch of films that use exceptionally long takes to great effect. Have fun exploring this immersive corner of cinema!

Fully One-Shots Films

These are films that contain only one shot from start to end. The camera starts recording and doesn’t stop until the credits. We can think of these as the final boss of long takes!

Boiling Point (2021)

I think it would be best to start off the list with another Stephen Graham hit. If you didn’t know, Graham plays the father of the thirteen-year-old main character in Adolescence, and he is also the co-creator, co-writer, and executive producer. In Boiling Point, we get another chance to see Graham in an impressive one-shot. This thriller/drama film, which has 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, follows the goings-on in a high-end restaurant on a busy night, as head chef Jones (played by Graham) manages his team. The drama and multiple crises that occur are enough to keep anyone on the edge of their seat, and the uninterrupted take just adds to the tension.

Russian Ark (2002)

This experimental historical drama is a classic in the one-shot genre. As a French aristocrat makes his way through the iconic Winter Palace, he encounters figures from the last few centuries of Russian history. The grandeur of the location and opulence of the clothes are a treat for the eyes, so this film is definitely a great one to watch for those who are aesthetically inclined.

Victoria (2015)

This one-shot German crime thriller runs an impressive, uninterrupted 138 minutes. As the story progresses, we move through the dark of night into the shifting colors of a sunrise in Berlin. While the filming itself has much technical merit, what is just as astounding to me is that the script was apparently only twelve pages long, and much of the film was improvised by the actors.

Utoya: July 22 (2018)

This film is a dramatisation of the harrowing 2011 terrorist attack that took place in a youth summer camp in Norway, although the characters are fictional. We follow a teenage girl as she goes through the terrifying ordeal. Director Erik Poppe’s hyperrealist approach, shaped by close dialogue with survivors, is raw and eye-opening.

Films with Long Takes

Other films aren’t made up of a single shot, but still contain exceptionally long takes that can span many minutes.

Rope (1948)

We can’t talk about long takes in cinema without paying homage to Rope by the one and only Alfred Hitchcock. This is considered by many to be his most experimental film. The ten takes that make up the story last up to ten minutes each, which leaves us with shots that were thoroughly pre-planned and plotted out. This level of technicality is fascinating to see from such an old movie.

Before Sunset (2004)

The Before Trilogy takes the real-time feel of long takes to the next level, as the movies were set and filmed at nine-year intervals, allowing us to see the actors mature and age in real life. Before Sunset, the second film, is especially faithful to the spirit of the long take, both in the length of the actual shots (including an impressive one lasting eleven minutes), and the fact that the film’s 80-minute runtime unfolds in real time, as we follow the two main characters continuously through their 80 minutes of on-screen interaction.

Birdman (2014)

While this comedy-drama is what is considered a ‘pseudo-one-shot’ — as it creates the illusion of a seamless take through clever-editing and CGI — the long sequences that were stitched together are impressive miniature one-shots themselves. There is actually some mystery surrounding the length of each shot, but we know from director Iñárritu that generally they are much longer than seven-to-ten minutes. The result? Seamless movement weaving through space, imitating real life — where, in Iñárritu’s words, “you look here, then you look there”. I don’t know a simpler way to describe the spirit of one-shot cinema than that.