10 Genius Suspense Tricks That Made Movies Great
1. A Special Camera Device Was Used To Keep Adam Sandler In Constant Motion - Uncut Gems
There's no denying that the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems is one of the most anxiety-inducing and flat-out stressful movies of the last year, due to a bewildering combination of Adam Sandler's superbly frazzled performance, expertly snappy editing, and frantic, overlapping sound design.
But in many ways the unsung MVP of the movie is cinematographer Darius Khondji, who near-constantly keeps the camera moving throughout the movie, especially whenever Sandler's protagonist Howard Ratner is on-screen.
It creates a feeling of anxious agitation in the audience, that the movie is effectively as restless as Howard himself.
Yet as simple as that might seem, keeping an ever-moving Sandler in focus while filming the movie's more intimate, boxed-in scenes was a mighty challenge indeed.
While on a typical film set Sandler's twitchiness would be a nightmare for a focus puller trying to keep him in focus, Khondji employed use of a special device called the Light Ranger 2.
This nifty piece of tech effectively serves as a "GPS" for focus pullers, guiding them to the correct focus pull and massively reducing the potential for error.
According to the Safdies themselves, it allowed them to capture many of Sandler's most creative and off-the-cuff moments on the first take, rather than trying to recreate the moment in subsequent takes.
No matter how Sandler moved around the set, he'd be kept in focus thanks to this device which is fast picking up esteem throughout Hollywood.
It's a facet of the film which 99% of audiences will completely take for granted, and yet without it, Sandler's performance likely wouldn't feel quite so organic, and the Safdies wouldn't have been able to keep the image constantly on-the-move.
Palpably, that feeling of unrest transpires through to the audience, especially during the movie's incredibly taut third act.