Netflix’s best single set films
In European history, the first plays took place in the Theatre of Dionysus in the 5th century. Their popularity grew and soon spread across Greece. With technological advancements, stories were translated into motion pictures and eventually film as we know it today.
With these advances in technology, stories portrayed on film grew more dynamic and diverse. We’ve seen similar improvements in theatre productions, but regardless of the technology in theatres, there’s still only one stage.
There is something poignant about viewing a story with the overt finishings refined to one stage - to one set. Participating actors have to work that much harder to ensure their message resonates with the audience without overplaying their character.
Over the years, Netflix has steadily prioritized single set films and brought them further into the collective consciousness of the film community; all while tackling themes of police brutality, institutionalized racism, and romantic resentment.
The Guilty (2021)
Starring Jake Gyllenhall, The Guilty is a crime thriller remake of a similarly titled 2018 Danish film. This Netflix film follows the story of an LAPD officer awaiting trial while working as a 911 emergency hotline operator.
While on shift, Joe Baylor (Jake Gylenhall) receives a call from an abducted woman, Emily Lighton (Christina Vidal). While working to get help to Emily, details of her abduction unfold as Baylor investigates the case from the emergency hotline center, contrary to his job description.
While attempting to get necessary assistance to Emily, Baylor begins to realize that the abduction in question is not as cut-and-dried as he’d believed when he discovers Emily’s “abductor’s” motives. As the story unfolds it becomes clear that Baylor is awaiting trial for an officer related shooting, further explaining why he’s experiencing such a visceral response to Emily’s kidnapping.
Malcolm & Marie (2020)
Produced and starring Zendaya and John David Washington, Malcom & Marie is a 21st century black-and-white romantic drama. When writer-director, Malcom (Washington) and girlfriend, Marie (Zendaya) return home from the premiere of his film, deeply rooted problems in their relationship rise to the surface. The catalyst of which was when Malcom forgot to thank Marie during his speech.
What is seemingly an innocent oversight is then unpacked to be even more contemptuous than a mere oversight. The characters oscillate between vigorous arguing, slow burning criticisms, and brief moments of peace that were never given enough time to set. In their persistent disagreement, it becomes apparent that feelings of exasperation, resentment, and disillusionment, are cornerstones of this relationship, while often being brushed away as if they were footnotes.
Ma Rainey’s Blackbottom (2020)
Based on the real life story of Ma Rainey, the drama stars Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts. While Ma Rainey was a truly influential blues singer during her time in the spotlight, this film is a dramatization of a recording session set in 1920s Chicago.
When Ma Rainey (Davis) arrives late and demanding to a recording session, the relationship between artist, band, and recording studio is unpacked and dissected. Levee Green (Boseman) is the band's trumpeter with big aspirations of a solo career out from behind the shadow of Ma. In trying to differentiate himself and sell his own music to Paramount’s Recording Studios in Chicago, Levee becomes disrespectful and abrasive to the cohesion of the band.
With various difficulties to the recording session itself, Ma’s brash and demanding nature is explained to be necessary in order to be treated as an artist with value to the recording company, as opposed to a dog in an alley; the experience of many black performers of the time.
American Son (2019)
Based on the similarly named Broadway play, American Son is a drama film starring Kerry Washington, Steven Pasequale, Jeremy Jordan, and Eurgene Lee. When Kendra Ellis-Connor (Washington) reports her son missing to her local police station, she waits for information in a wing of the station that is remeniscent of its segrated history. As a black woman, she quickly picks up on the bias of rookie cop, Officer Paul Larkin, and calls it out accordingly. Only when the father of her child, a white FBI agent Scott Connor, arrives does the Officer begin to engage the issue of their son’s disappearance with more consideration.
The film sees the now divorced Kendra and Paul bickering about the state of mind and welfare of their son. As the story progresses, the difficulties of being black in America, regardless of the detail of one’s cultural/racial background, play out in Kendra’s explanation of her son’s lived experience.
When Kendra and Paul come across a video of a traffic stop shooting involving their son, they become even more distressed and demanding while waiting for a Lieutenant Stokes. American Son, in essence, is propelled by the emotional turmoil of parenthood, particularly that of socially aware parents with black children.
