10 Best Films Set In Just One Location
10. My Dinner With Andre
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.