Watch an Elaborate One-Shot Montage in ‘Música’

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What’s the best way to narratively portray a life that has become nearly impossible to manage? How about with a one-take montage sequence that seems nearly impossible to pull off?

That’s what Rudy Mancuso goes for in his debut feature, “Música” (streaming on Amazon Prime Video), which he directed, composed, co-wrote (with Dan Lagana) and stars in.

The character he plays, Rudy, has been dividing his attention between the three closest women in his life: his girlfriend, Haley (Francesca Reale), with whom he’s hit difficult times; his mother, Maria (Maria Mancuso), and a new woman he is getting to know, Isabella (Camila Mendes). He’s lying to all three. “On the page, it was actually called the ‘Rhythm of Lies,’” Mancuso said in his narration.

The scene is shot on a warehouse stage, with sets flying in and out to represent the different encounters Rudy has with these women. He moves from setup to setup, changing his clothes along the way, with lighting cues syncopated to the music. (Watch for that moment where Rudy starts a kiss with one woman, freezes in place and finishes the kiss with another woman.)

Mancuso said that he and his crew needed half a day of rehearsal and a half a day of shooting 14 takes to pull it all off along.

“This would not have been possible without the hard work of my production designer, Patrick Sullivan, and my amazing DP, Shane Hurlbut,” he said.

Read the “Música” review.

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