The very first scene of Elevator features a young boy and girl, both perhaps 15, trapped in a lift in an abandoned building in Romania, screaming for help. Before you see the film, you are likely to be aware that it was made on a shoestring (there is low-budget, there is ultra low-budget, then there is 200 euros), that it was based on a true story, and that it is entirely set in the lift space. With no back-story, with no outside world, and just two characters, you immediately worry where can it go from here? How can it possibly sustain the viewer's interest for a feature-length film?
And yet it does, and does so surprisingly well. As the days pass, the sense of atmosphere heightens, and the audience starts to feel the claustrophobia and stench of the tiny shared space as keenly as the two characters. The editing is taut and the lead (that is, only) performances are well-pitched. Despite the low budget, there is an effective soundtrack that lends a sense of urgency to key scenes.
The script, especially the pacing and character development, is particularly strong, and what might be pre-conceived as depressing and dull art-house fare is, in fact, lively, warm, accessible and humorous, with plenty of tension and suspense. An excellent, unexpected closing scene puts the icing on the cake. Proof, then, that you can make a great film for the cost of an ipod.
And yet it does, and does so surprisingly well. As the days pass, the sense of atmosphere heightens, and the audience starts to feel the claustrophobia and stench of the tiny shared space as keenly as the two characters. The editing is taut and the lead (that is, only) performances are well-pitched. Despite the low budget, there is an effective soundtrack that lends a sense of urgency to key scenes.
The script, especially the pacing and character development, is particularly strong, and what might be pre-conceived as depressing and dull art-house fare is, in fact, lively, warm, accessible and humorous, with plenty of tension and suspense. An excellent, unexpected closing scene puts the icing on the cake. Proof, then, that you can make a great film for the cost of an ipod.