Ask any director and I’m sure they’ll tell you that film making can be a painstaking process, especially one on a low-budget. Director Nick Reve, played by Steve Buscemi, unfortunately knows this all too well in Tom DiCillo’s 1995 film, Living in Oblivion, as he struggles to coordinate cast and crew in order to shoot the perfect scene. Dark and satirical, this three-part comedy offers a glimpse of what can really go on behind the scenes of your favourite movie, and how it effects the final cut.
The film’s characters are realistic through their interaction with one another, as well as their setting and costuming. However, the given circumstances cause the stakes to be heightened, as they frantically try to stay on schedule with filming all while dealing with a low budget. As a result, character archetypes emerge in the frenzy, with a specific trope underlying each person’s behaviour:
Nick Reve – The tired and overworked director, struggling to keep the peace on set in order to reach their vision, who is “accommodating, supportive, non-judgmental, practical and hard-working” (Montgomery, 2018).
Chad Palomino – The deluded and narcissistic pretty boy who has zero talent, yet is so entitled that he believes he is never in the wrong. He is so “self-absorbed to the point that [he] consistently prioritize[s] [his] own desires at others’ expense” (TvTropes, 2019).
Nicole – The beautiful woman who is “friendly, psychologically well-balanced, [and] morally average” (TvTropes, 2019), striving to establish a career in a ruthless industry, all while trying to keep her crush on her boss under wraps.
Wolf – The tough guy with a sensitive side who is nice to his love interest yet still finishes last, resulting in “low-key yearning” (TvTropes, 2019).
Wanda – The assertive woman who is dedicated to her job, yet cannot balance love her career at the same time, “which inevitably brings her a lot of heartbreaks” (Black, 2017).
Cora – The eccentric old woman who is “oddly endearing…naïve, innocent and sarcasm-blind” (TvTropes, 2019) and eventually saves the day.
Throughout the movie, it becomes evident that the chemistry between the characters on screen is affected by their relationships off camera. In the second sequence, Nicole dreams about a love confession scene between her character, Ellen, and Chad’s character, Damian. However, Nicole struggles to truthfully convey a sense of love and intimacy between their characters on camera, as a result of Chad’s true personality off screen. He berates Nicole’s acting, continuously goes off script, and demands the director follow his blocking, thereby causing the on-screen relationship to suffer. Furthermore, it is brought to our attention that relationships between crew members can also affect the quality of their work and create tension on set. Camera man and cinematographer, Wolf, becomes upset and withdrawn when the First Assistant Director, Wanda, breaks up with him during the third sequence. As a result, Wolf neglects his job and leaves the camera unattended, preferring to sulk on set, with the possibility of further delaying production.
The frustration felt by the characters is palpable, with the audience suffering with them as scenes are redone over and over again. However, it is through the movie’s structure that the viewer can truly experience the reality of making a movie, as well as how obstacles on set can affect the final outcome of the product. Watching this film is like making a movie, you never know how many times something will be repeated or when it a sequence will be complete; you’re always living in oblivion.
References
Black, V. (2017, June 13). All You Need to Know About the Career Woman Archetype in Fiction [Web log post]. Retrieved from, https://writingcooperative.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-career-woman-archetype-in-fiction-d42ec01d7ef6
Griffiths, M. (Producer), Viscidi, M. (Producer), & DiCillo, T. (Director). (1995). Living in Oblivion [Motion Picture]. United States: Sony Pictures Classics.
Montgomery, D. (2018, July 20). Leader Archetype #9 | The Peacemaker [Web log post]. Retrieved from, https://leadershipreality.org/leader-archetype-9-the-peacemaker/
Sony Pictures Classics. (1995). Living in Oblivion [Poster]. In T. DiCillo. Living in Oblivion. Retrieved from, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_in_Oblivion#/media/File:Living_in_oblivion.jpg
Sony Pictures Classics. (1995). Nick, Chad and Nicole [Image]. In T. DiCillo. Living in Oblivion. Retrieved from, https://www.cinemaspection.com/2013/07/overlooked-gems-living-in-oblivion-1995.html
Sony Pictures Classics. (1995). Scene 6, Take 1 [Image]. In T. DiCillo. Living in Oblivion. Retrieved from, https://www.culledculture.com/living-in-oblivion-parodies-indie-filmmaking-being-just-as-impure-as-major-budget-movies/
Sony Pictures Classics. (1995). Steve Buscemi, Dermot Mulroney, Ryan Bowker, Kevin Corrigan, Hilary Gilford, and Danielle von Zerneck {Image]. In T. DiCillo. Living in Oblivion. Retrieved from, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113677/mediaviewer/rm4216334336
Sony Pictures Classics. (1995). Wanda and Wolf [Image]. In T. DiCillo. Living in Oblivion. Retrieved from, https://hollywoodsuite.ca/connect/living-in-oblivion/
TvTropes. (2019). Cloudcuckoolander. Retrieved from, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Cloudcuckoolander
TvTropes. (2019). Dogged Nice Guy. Retrieved from, https://canberra.libguides.com/c.php?g=599301&p=4149327#s-lg-box-12886565
TvTropes. (2019). Narcissist. Retrieved from, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Narcissist
TvTropes. (2019). Nice Guy aka: Nice Girl. Retrieved from, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NiceGuy?from=Main.NiceGirl
Annie & Acting 
