The Call
3/4
Starring: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, Roma Maffia, Evie Thompson
Rated R for Violence, Disturbing Content, and Some Language
"The Call" is a thriller that depends on how many wrenches and new twists the writer can throw in the story. With "The Call," screenwriter Richard D'Ovidio (who came up with the story with Nicole D'Ovidio and John Bokenkamp) comes up with enough ideas to sustain a 90 minute movie, and director Brad Anderson keeps things moving fast enough that he never loses our interest.
Jordan Turner (Berry) is a 911 dispatcher in what appears to be Los Angeles. She's very good at what she does, able to calmly help everyone who calls from people who have shot someone or witnesses to an injury, or the local drunk. One day she gets a call from a young girl, Leah Templeton (Thompson) who is in a panic because there is a man who is breaking into her house. But when Jordan makes a mistake that leads to her death, she loses all her confidence. Six months later, she's training new dispatchers, when a call comes in from another panicked girl who has been kidnapped. Jordan soon realizes that this girl, Casey Welson (Breslin) is the newest victim of Leah's killer, and she has to find where Casey is before she suffers the same fate.
What helps the film immeasurably is the fact for the first 100 minutes, Jordan is on the phone. There is a lot of tension in this situation, where the person can only listen and talk to the helpless victim. Brad Anderson is smart enough to realize this, and exploits this tension as much as he can. The trailer shows Jordan going after the killer herself, but that doesn't happen until the very end. It's not very believable that Jordan does this, but we've been with her for the majority of the movie and we'll stick with her to the end.
The performances are solid. Halle Berry is her usual reliable self, able to seem warm and empathetic. Abigail Breslin, clearly having grown up since her days as a child actress (she's shown in a bra and uses profanity), is also very good. Morris Chestnut is okay, but not especially memorable as the cop on the case, and Jordan's would-be lover. Michael Eklund is creepy as the villain.
The flaws come towards the end. The first is explaining the killer's motives. Frankly, it's not necessary. The film would be just as effective if he had simply been shown to be a remorseless killer. But because Anderson includes this, it's a mistake because it's only partially explained. If you're going to do something like this, you have to follow it through.
More egregious is the final scene. It rings false and doesn't offer any closure, and for a sort-of open ending, it's not satisfying either. I never for a second believed that the characters would do this, and it's so poorly motivated that it falls flat on its face.
This is one of those movies where you either buy into it, or don't. There were people laughing at this movie when I saw it, and I'm not surprised. If you allow yourself to get sucked in, then it works. But if you make the film work for it, then it's going to be a waste of your time.
Starring: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, Roma Maffia, Evie Thompson
Rated R for Violence, Disturbing Content, and Some Language
"The Call" is a thriller that depends on how many wrenches and new twists the writer can throw in the story. With "The Call," screenwriter Richard D'Ovidio (who came up with the story with Nicole D'Ovidio and John Bokenkamp) comes up with enough ideas to sustain a 90 minute movie, and director Brad Anderson keeps things moving fast enough that he never loses our interest.
Jordan Turner (Berry) is a 911 dispatcher in what appears to be Los Angeles. She's very good at what she does, able to calmly help everyone who calls from people who have shot someone or witnesses to an injury, or the local drunk. One day she gets a call from a young girl, Leah Templeton (Thompson) who is in a panic because there is a man who is breaking into her house. But when Jordan makes a mistake that leads to her death, she loses all her confidence. Six months later, she's training new dispatchers, when a call comes in from another panicked girl who has been kidnapped. Jordan soon realizes that this girl, Casey Welson (Breslin) is the newest victim of Leah's killer, and she has to find where Casey is before she suffers the same fate.
What helps the film immeasurably is the fact for the first 100 minutes, Jordan is on the phone. There is a lot of tension in this situation, where the person can only listen and talk to the helpless victim. Brad Anderson is smart enough to realize this, and exploits this tension as much as he can. The trailer shows Jordan going after the killer herself, but that doesn't happen until the very end. It's not very believable that Jordan does this, but we've been with her for the majority of the movie and we'll stick with her to the end.
The performances are solid. Halle Berry is her usual reliable self, able to seem warm and empathetic. Abigail Breslin, clearly having grown up since her days as a child actress (she's shown in a bra and uses profanity), is also very good. Morris Chestnut is okay, but not especially memorable as the cop on the case, and Jordan's would-be lover. Michael Eklund is creepy as the villain.
The flaws come towards the end. The first is explaining the killer's motives. Frankly, it's not necessary. The film would be just as effective if he had simply been shown to be a remorseless killer. But because Anderson includes this, it's a mistake because it's only partially explained. If you're going to do something like this, you have to follow it through.
More egregious is the final scene. It rings false and doesn't offer any closure, and for a sort-of open ending, it's not satisfying either. I never for a second believed that the characters would do this, and it's so poorly motivated that it falls flat on its face.
This is one of those movies where you either buy into it, or don't. There were people laughing at this movie when I saw it, and I'm not surprised. If you allow yourself to get sucked in, then it works. But if you make the film work for it, then it's going to be a waste of your time.
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