The Guilty and 4 Other Suspenseful Movies Starring Only One Actor
These films only require one outstanding performance.
Sometimes, all you need to make a gripping movie is a good script, a small set, and one actor. Today, we're remembering films like that: from sci-fi dramas about exploring the moon to tense thrillers about rescue services.
1. Locke, 2013
Ivan Locke is driving to another city on the highway. He needs to get to his mistress, who is about to give birth to his son. Meanwhile, his family is waiting for him for dinner, and a colleague is trying to sort out an important order.
Locke's life is falling apart, and he can only try to solve his problems over the phone.
When Locke came out in 2013, Tom Hardy was still mostly a supporting actor. It was this film that made the world take notice of him as a great artist.
2. The Guilty, 2018
A rescue worker receives an alarming call. A woman claims that her ex-husband has kidnapped her and is taking her to kill her.
Although his shift is already over, the man agrees to help her and enlists the help of former colleagues from law enforcement agencies to try to figure out the situation. For him, this is a way to clear his conscience after being suspended from the police force for shooting an unarmed man during an arrest.
3. Moon, 2009
Astronaut Sam has spent three years on a lunar base, extracting a rare gas important for Earth. His contract is almost up, and his family is waiting for him at home. His replacement is about to arrive.
Recently, however, Sam's health has begun to deteriorate. When he loses consciousness during one of his trips to the surface, another Sam appears to save him.
Sam Rockwell plays two characters experiencing an existential crisis in different ways. Their entire lives have been lies, and they don't know what to do about it.
4. Oxygen, 2021
A woman wakes up in a cryogenic chamber and can't escape. Only an artificial intelligence can help her, but it doesn't always respond correctly to commands. The woman doesn't remember who she is or how she got there.
Meanwhile, the oxygen level in the chamber is slowly decreasing. If she doesn't escape soon, she will die.
Melanie Laurent plays the stunningly lost woman, nervously trying to escape despite having no idea what situation she's in, unlike many other characters of similar films.
5. Buried, 2010
Paul is a civilian contractor working in Iraq. One day, he and his colleagues are attacked by local terrorists. Paul wakes up inside a coffin buried several meters underground.
He only has a phone and a lighter. His captors demand a ransom for his release, and he tries to reach the embassy and his family. Otherwise, he will remain buried alive.
We have become accustomed to Ryan Reynolds playing the same sarcastic joker role in all his films. It is strange to realize that he is actually an excellent actor who has chosen to limit himself to one image.