# Movies with the most realistic acting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332 "2009-10-19T14:37:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/1 "2009-10-19T14:37:48Z")
Another thread brought this question to mind. Most—hell, nearly all—movies have people acting dramatically in ways that I have never seen or heard anyone acting in real life, even in times of crisis. Which movies have the most realistic acting? Not the best realism in situations or plots or special effects, but which movies have people acting the way you would picture someone actually reacting to a situation in real life? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/2 "2009-10-19T14:39:39Z")
United 93? Some of the acting by the non-actors is pretty stilted, but a lot of it is how they believe they behaved on 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/3 "2009-10-19T15:21:26Z")
The one that came to mind for me was Apollo 13. But I don’t know if historical movies count…particularly those about recent events where the words and tone was captured on film to base the portrayal on. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/4 "2009-10-19T15:23:18Z")
I watched a movie about ten years ago called _[In the Company of Men](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119361/)_, and I was really impressed with the realism of the acting and the dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/5 "2009-10-19T16:28:49Z")
Just about anything by the [Dardenne Brothers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardenne_brothers). ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/6 "2009-10-19T16:31:16Z")
I thought _Requiem for a Dream_ was very realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/7 "2009-10-19T17:06:12Z")
_District 9_. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/8 "2009-10-19T17:11:21Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Just about anything by the [Dardenne Brothers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardenne_brothers). Ken Loach Mike Leigh John Cassavetes Chantal Ackerman ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/9 "2009-10-19T17:16:04Z")
Not a huge fan of [Robert Altman](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000265/), but one thing his movies get right is the way people often talk over each other (“step on each other’s lines”) in real life. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/10 "2009-10-19T17:49:09Z")
[Primer](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3909854615539675694#). The dialogue and acting are both extremely naturalistic (watch the opening scene, starting at about 1:25, to get an idea). ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/11 "2009-10-20T09:12:16Z")
Not specific movies, but I always think movies in languages I don’t know (fluently) feel more realistic. I have this often with french, spanish and italian movie, while I cringe at most dutch movies. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/12 "2009-10-20T09:56:05Z")
**Taxi Driver** continues to amaze. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/13 "2009-10-20T10:57:03Z")
_The Thing from Another World_, if only for the dialogue—and it really _isn’t_ just the dialogue, either. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/14 "2009-10-20T11:39:14Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > _The Thing from Another World_, if only for the dialogue—and it really _isn’t_ just the dialogue, either. Yeah, they did the whole “stepping on each other’s conversation” in that movie too. I’ve always liked that about the original The Thing. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/15 "2009-10-20T11:40:15Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > [Primer](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3909854615539675694#). The dialogue and acting are both extremely naturalistic (watch the opening scene, starting at about 1:25, to get an idea). Thanks much for the link. I watched the whole movie. Very cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/16 "2009-10-20T13:11:46Z")
For specifics of Altman acting, watch scenes of MASH where they are in the mess tent. They talk, they laugh, they stumble over each other. It’s fun to laugh along with because the acting seems real and the characters are having fun. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/17 "2009-10-20T15:43:48Z")
Of all the movies I’ve seen, the single performance that stands out for me as “not acting” is Dexter Gordon’s performance in [Round Midnight](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090557/). Dexter is a jazz musician portraying a jazz musician, so there’s that. But he is not a professional actor. What I saw on screen was a real person, not a performance. I found it quite amazing. He received a well deserved Oscar nomination for his work. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/18 "2009-10-20T18:36:00Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Thanks much for the link. I watched the whole movie. Very cool. You’re welcome; I figured something like that might happen. Just in finding the link and the start point of the first conversation, I got sucked in and watched about 45 minutes. It’s a very cool flick, made with no money at all. They couldn’t even really afford film stock, so doing lots of multiple takes was not an option. Rather, they had to meticulously block out each scene and rehearse it into the ground before rolling. [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_(film)). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/19 "2009-10-20T19:02:12Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Yeah, they did the whole “stepping on each other’s conversation” in that movie too. I’ve always liked that about the original The Thing. It was directed by Howard Hawks. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332/20 "2009-10-20T19:10:33Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > It was directed by Howard Hawks. Who did the same thing in much earlier films, most notably _His Girl Friday_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-the-most-realistic-acting/514332.md?page=2)