The Spectacular Now

James Ponsoldt shot the film in Athens, Georgia, the town he grew up in. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber adapted Tim Tharp’s novel; the pair had written (500) Days of Summer, and that film’s director Marc Webb was attached here for a while before leaving for The Amazing Spider-Man. Cinematographer Jess Hall worked in anamorphic 35mm on Kodak Vision2 50D negative, stock already discontinued, which he chose for its fine grain and contrast. The decisive choice is in the coverage: most scenes play out in a single developing shot instead of being broken into matching angles, because Ponsoldt did not want the performances cut apart. Hall kept the light naturalistic as well, saying the audience had to believe every frame. There is close to one digital effects shot in the whole picture, the collision, assembled from two plates. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley shared the U.S. Dramatic special jury award for acting at Sundance in 2013. The film was nominated for screenplay and for female lead at the 29th Independent Spirit Awards and won neither. A good fit if you want conversations left running in one frame with no cutaway to rescue a reaction. Not for anyone who needs to see Sutter decide to stop drinking, because the last scene leaves him on the edge of that decision.