Movies that are technically a single shot are their own kind of special thing. From Hitchcock’s Rope to Silent House to One Cut of the Dead, Timecode and Russian Ark, as well as the Horrorbuzz recently-reviewed Australian single shot film Watch the Sunset, the sheer brazenness of attempting to capture a story, uninterrupted, in one take is a remarkable achievement–even more so when multiple locations are involved.  Timing is crucial and screen time plays out as real time. All of which is to say Nightride should not work–but it does.

Budge (Moe Dunford) is a drug dealer looking for one final score that will finance his exit out of the underworld and into the world of legitimate business. Virtually everything happens off screen as he listens in on his Bluetooth while driving around the city, attempting to set up the deal, save the deal once it starts to fall apart, find a new buyer, make things right with Joe (Stephen Rea), the local criminal lord, and somehow avoid cops and consequences.

Nightride would work great as a radio drama, as only four of the nine characters are ever witnessed onscreen. The others are all only voices on Budge’s phone. A movie about a series of phone calls attempting to make a drug connection happen in ninety minutes does not sound like a dramatic or visually dynamic experience, but the film maintains tension and somehow works. Part of the pleasure is watching Budge dance as fast as he can, knowing midnight is the deadline for everything–with an occasional clock manifesting on screen to remind the audience how little time he actually has to pull off a series of miracles.

Dunford carries Nightride, as both his ambition and terror are palpable. This is about a man trying to do everything right to give himself a shot at living a normal life. The point is not the action, but Budge’s reactions, in every sense of the word, as roadblock after cockup mangles his best laid plans. What are all these roadblocks? Well, that’s part of the fun of watching so you’ll just have to see for yourself.

As any film shot in a single take, the plot and action are down-to-the-minute tight, and the ending surprisingly works as well. Nightride is a technical and emotional achievement – kudos to the director, writer and Dunford for making it look effortless. It’s all well worth the watch and, even though you won’t see much, the audience, like Budge, lives through a great deal.

8 out of 10