Films with very small casts

[Reed John]

I've seen two good ones lately that fall into this category.

Locke: Which takes place entirely in Tom Hardy's car as he drives to London from somewhere north. As the ride continues he makes many phone calls on his hands free device and fucks up his entire life. It's remarkable. Other characters' voices on it, but he's the only one onscreen.

The One I Love This fits into another favorite micro-category of mine: Films That Could Have Been Twilight Zone Episodes.
There are only three actors with any speaking role and only two of them do much. It's such an odd premise and plot that I can't really say much about it other than to recommend it.

Moon Not one I've seen recently, but one of my favorite recent sci-fi films. Sam Rockwell runs a helium mining operation on the Moon.

Also could be a Twlight Zone episode.

[slackster]

Films with very small casts

Robert Redford did a single-handler in All Is Lost last year. Good film too.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Films with very small casts

My Dinner with Andre drops nicely into this category.

[Valentino Mazzola]

Films with very small casts

Knife In The Water

[Reed John]

Films with very small casts

All is Lost was remarkable. It also had almost no lines.

[Reed John]

Films with very small casts

Gravity is am obvious one, I guess. Not as brilliant as the others mentioned, though.

[ian.64]

Films with very small casts

Sleuth - a perennial favourite. Olivier and Caine going at it like sharply-scripted snakes. Do not want to see the remake.

[ian.64]

Films with very small casts

Does Plaza Suite count? Barring a fleeting appearance from one or two characters, it retains a core of three actors: Walter Matthau, Maureen Stapleton and Lee Grant.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Films with very small casts

Cast Away (although lots of new characters turn up at the end).

Come to think of it, Castaway, too, the far superior 1986 one with Oliver Reed playing himself and Amanda Donohoe running around in the nuddy.

Duel was just the one bloke in the car, wasn't it? I don't think we ever get to see the driver of the truck.

Silent Running was just Bruce Dern, after he killed the other ones.

[ian.64]

Films with very small casts

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - Sandy Dennis, Liz Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal.

[ian.64]

Films with very small casts

Dark Star - Three guys (including Dan O'Bannon, writer of Alien), and four if you include a brief appearance by a refrigerated dead captain.

[Ginger Yellow]

Films with very small casts

Don't forget the space hopper.

[ian.64]

Films with very small casts

No, no! Visual effects shouldn't really count, I'm afraid.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Films with very small casts

Phone Booth.

Just Colin Farrell and Kiefer Sutherland really.

[Jah Womble]

Films with very small casts

Just the three of them in Blair Witch Project, as well.

[treibeis]

Films with very small casts

I thought the film version of God of Carnage only had four people in it, but it turns out there were six of them.

The entire cast of Mein letzter Film consists of an aging Hannelore Elstner. Basically, she stares at the camera for an hour and a half and bangs on about herself.

When ex-Fräulein treibeis dragged me to the cinema to watch it years ago, she was a bit disturbed to discover that, of the 20 or so people there, she was the only female and we were the only people who weren't alone.

She was convinced the other members of the audience - all in their mid-50s or older - were thinking back to the Hannleore Elstner of their youth and then craftily cracking one off.

(Which they may well have been; I did't inspect the state of the seat backs or the floor after they'd put the house lights back on at the end.) film had finished

[ian.64]

Films with very small casts

How's about Rear Window? Yes, you have a lot of people within the buildings in that marvelous set, but they're not really cast members are they? Extras, technically. Take that away and you've got Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr.

[Benjm]

Films with very small casts

Purple Rain

[jwdd27]

Films with very small casts

I saw Prince earlier this year, and he was actually taller than I thought he would be. Also wasn't as good as I thought he'd be.

[Sits]

Films with very small casts

Reed John wrote:
Locke: Which takes place entirely in Tom Hardy's car as he drives to London from somewhere north. As the ride continues he makes many phone calls on his hands free device and fucks up his entire life. It's remarkable. Other characters' voices on it, but he's the only one onscreen.

Reminds me of Marion & Geoff, in which you only ever see Rob Brydon, except (a) he addresses his webcam (b) it's not a movie. Excellent, funny and sad though.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Films with very small casts

Patch Adams had a number of very small casts.

[Freestyling buck wilding Stijn Stijnen]

Films with very small casts

Moon starring Sam Rockwell sprang to mind. I bloody love that film. No that isn't doing it justice, I think it's amazing on pretty much every level. And the soundtrack's composed by Pop will eat itself's Clint Mansell, which is a bonus.

I haven't seen it, but is 127 hours with James Franco applicable? I've heard that it's just him for most of the movie.

[Ginger Yellow]

Films with very small casts

There's also his wife, and Gerty, and according to IMDB 8 others. Still, you don't see much of them.

[Reed John]

Films with very small casts

I forgot about 127 hours.

Technically, it has a larger cast because there are a lot of flashbacks, etc. But mostly it's just him stuck in a rock.

[WOM]

Films with very small casts

Oh great...thanks.