10 Best Films Set In Just One Location

Feeling a little bit claustrophobic? Then these might be just what you need.

Saw Cary Elwes
Lions Gate Films

While the sprawling epics that Hollywood has been known for for years have always dominated the box office, it's surprising just how many one setting films have charmed their way into the critics' and the audience's hearts.

While a night of claustrophobic intrigue may not be for everyone, but for every large scale epic like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, there is a small, cheap gem that will only leave you wanting more.

One setting films are a great way to explore characters, motives, emotions, general societal issues and can even be a great glimpse into some of the best storytelling you've ever seen.

Done correctly, a one-setting film can make the setting itself a character, charming the audience, drawing them ever closer into the world of the one room/spaceship/dungeon/hospital etc and really bring a sense of story and character in a way that larger films may not be able to.

10. My Dinner With Andre

Saw Cary Elwes
New Yorker Films

One of the most famous one setting films and also the basis for one of the best episodes of Community's second series, My Dinner with Andre has a certain charm to it that few films are likely to achieve.

The film sees Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn playing fictionalised versions of themselves, as they have dinner at Café des Artistes in Manhattan and discuss everything from experimental theatre, all the way through to the finer points of human spiritual experience.

What follows is a somewhat bourgeoisie exploration into the human fabric. The titular Andre has been on a series of wild adventures, which have taken him to Long Island, Poland, Scotland and Sahara, putting on various plays and performance art pieces.

Andre spends the first half of the dinner talking to Wallace about his experiences, his understanding of the different cultures that he has experienced and the different experiences he has had.

Meanwhile, the second half of the film is Shawn's only somewhat angry refusal to accept that Andre's way of life is sustainable or even attainable to the modern man or woman.

While My Dinner with Andre will have its critics, there is a distinct charm and a quality of keeping you invested even if you aren't totally interested in the film's dialogue. The film runs much like an off-Broadway play, or the sort of thing that experimental theatre troupes may try to fill the gaps in their season's programmes, which is probably why Andre looks like he's having such a great time.

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