Daniel Radcliffe And Woody Harrelson Teamed Up For A Bizarre Comedy We Need To Talk About

Filming a sequence, episode of a TV series, or even a movie in a single take is a massive challenge, but it's been done pretty impressively over the years. Shows like "Adolescence" and movies like the incredible real-time historical film "Russian Ark" have depicted events in a single take, requiring careful choreography between the cameras and actors. There's one film that took the concept a step further, however, filming the entire thing in one take and doing it live. 

The 2017 film "Lost in London" stars Woody Harrelson as himself while he experiences one of the worst nights of his life, running into celebrity friends and eventually getting arrested for damaging the backseat of a cab. Harrelson wrote and directed the film, basing it on the night in 2002 when he was actually arrested in London. "Lost in London" is wildly ambitious, shot on a single camera and taking place in real time, with Harrelson so confident in the single take that it was broadcast live in cinemas. That's pretty gutsy, and it makes "Lost in London" worth seeing for its technical prowess alone. The fact that the movie features cameos from Owen Wilson, Bono, Willie Nelson, and Daniel Radcliffe all playing themselves definitely doesn't hurt, either.

"Lost in London" follows Woody Harrelson as he careens around London, misbehaving and getting in all kinds of trouble with his wife Laura Louie (Eleanor Matsuura). His biggest concern, however, is making sure that he gets out of jail in time so that he can take his young daughters to meet Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe. The combination of fact and fiction and the live-streaming element make "Lost in London" a real oddity. Harrelson seemed aware that he really shot for the moon on his directorial debut, telling Entertainment Weekly:

"I guess you'd call it live cinema, but it's theater with 14 locations and 300 crew and 500 extras. It was just a mind-boggling — just the logistics were quite daunting. That's why I'm surprised that I decided to try something like this, my first time as a director. I guess maybe that way, from now on, it'll be a little easier."

Harrelson also noted that "Lost in London" and his "Star Wars" movie, "Solo," were set to come out on the same day and that while he had a feeling "Solo" would do better (despite his reticence to star in it initially), he was excited for people to check out "Lost in London" once it hit digital streaming. Fans on Letterboxd were thrilled by the film's ambition and praised Harrelson for depicting such a difficult time in his life so openly, though it does sound like there are some pretty tough moments watching him lash out. "Lost in London" might not be a film for everyone, but I'm glad it exists and I hope Harrelson continues to try audacious new things with the cinematic art form. 

"Lost in London" is currently streaming on Prime Video.