Let's just be straight forward about
The Call, ok? There are probably
very few people who are expecting much from it, looking like a fairly generic
action movie and another failed attempt by Halle Berry to mount a career
resurgence. If the film were an utter disaster it wouldn't be that big of a
deal, but the reality is far more disappointing. For a good stretch, it's
actually an intense, well-directed thriller told from a rarely-seen
perspective. And then for whatever reason, it's like all the light bulbs went
out in the heads of everyone involved.
Directed by Brad Anderson, who came to fame with the slightly overrated
drama
The
Machinist before following it up with the superb train mystery
Transsiberian,
The Call takes us inside "the hive"(also the film's original
title), the 911 call center that manages every crisis situation in the city.
Beneath an odd mop of hair is the gorgeous Halle Berry, who plays Jordan, a
veteran operator who has found a way to be personable while also doing a job
that almost screams for isolation. The daughter of a cop, she learned from him
the ability to deal with being the difference between life and death for some
people. That is until a simple mistake anyone could have made leads to the
murder of a young girl by an intruder, then Jordan finds herself wondering if
she can carry that burden any longer.
She's still dealing with that question months when an emergency call comes
in from another young girl.
Little Miss
Sunshine's Abigail Breslin plays Casey Weldon, a kidnap victim
stolen right out of her favorite mall and tossed in a car trunk. Breslin's past
roles inform our fear and terror for her, and we're thrust right there in that
claustrophobic situation right alongside her. Using a pre-paid phone, she
dials up 911 and gets Jordan on the line, who must push aside her own anxiety
and get to the business of making sure this girl survives.
The film puts us right in the heart of the nerve center, casually
introducing us to the technology at hand and the information at their disposal.
It's an inside look we rarely get, and one of the most clever aspects is how
even the tiniest detail can then be extrapolated to present a fuller picture of
the emergency. The bulk of the story takes place in only two places, the call
center and the car trunk, with occasional diversions for the kidnapper to
viciously remove any human obstacles in his path. Anderson keeps the tension
high as Jordan tries to stay one step ahead, using every trick up her sleeve to
triangulate Jordan's whereabouts. Meanwhile the actual cops always seem to be
everywhere they know the culprit isn't. That's one of the script's biggest
flaws up to that point, because if the police were that incompetent they'd all
be fired the next day. The villain is a true psycho, one of those creepy
nutballs with a disturbing fetish ripped straight from
The Silence
of the Lambs. When he goes into a rage, the camera freezes at the point
of violent impact. It's an effective camera trick that paints the culprit as
uncontrollable and unpredictable.
As effective as
The Call is up to that point, that's how completely
stupid it gets in the final stretch. It's almost as if the screenwriter quit
and the job was given to the Saturday Night Live staff. Logic is tossed out the
window as Jordan takes matters into her own hands, venturing into dark caves and
underground lairs to confront a known killer. It makes no sense, and rather
than evoking chills is more likely to have the audience erupting in howls of
laughter. Many films struggle with keeping a consistent tone, but the ball is
dropped here to such a degree that it demands a public Mea culpa.
The film puts us right in the heart of the nerve center, casually
introducing us to the technology at hand and the information at their disposal.
It's an inside look we rarely get, and one of the most clever aspects is how
even the tiniest detail can then be extrapolated to present a fuller picture of
the emergency. The bulk of the story takes place in only two places, the call
center and the car trunk, with occasional diversions for the kidnapper to
viciously remove any human obstacles in his path. Anderson keeps the tension
high as Jordan tries to stay one step ahead, using every trick up her sleeve to
triangulate Jordan's whereabouts. Meanwhile the actual cops always seem to be
everywhere they know the culprit isn't. That's one of the script's biggest
flaws up to that point, because if the police were that incompetent they'd all
be fired the next day. The villain is a true psycho, one of those creepy
nutballs with a disturbing fetish ripped straight from The Silence
of the Lambs. When he goes into a rage, the camera freezes at the point
of violent impact. It's an effective camera trick that paints the culprit as
uncontrollable and unpredictable.
