The Call Review

When the main characters of a film are connected only through the audio means of a phone call, sound obviously plays a major role. Opening with recorded 911 calls, sirens and other sounds of the city, in The Call what is heard is consistently as important as what is seen.

The Call sees 911 operator Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) taking a call from a distressed girl whose house has been invaded by a prowler. When that call ends badly, Jordan is left traumatised and takes up training newbies to the challenging role instead. However the possibility of redemption comes when Jordan hits the phones once more when another girl is kidnapped and held in the boot of a car with only a mobile phone as her link to the outside world.

The Call is a ruthlessly efficient thriller that races by at the pace of a panicked 911 call. Introducing the audience to the buzz of the hive where 911 operators work under huge pressure and with the stress of responding to panicked, terrifying and often horrific emergency calls, it is clear scriptwriter Richard D'Ovidio has done his research. The sounds of the phones, the screaming voices and the stakes that are being dealt with are immediately clear and the hive is such a fascinating world that a documentary on 911 operators would surely be riveting.

It is easy to care for characters whose job it is to help people in their greatest need and may never even learn the outcome of each of their cases. The strain and the pressure are understandably great and Halle Berry is an actress who finds an easily balance between calm, collected, steely resolve and shattered wreck when it all goes wrong. The scenes of Jordan being vulnerable and scarred mainly amount to a quick tear, popping a couple of pills and then she is back in the hot seat taking another urgent call and handling it with poise, intellect and care.

Casey (Abigail Breslin) is at the mall with her mate when she is abducted, thrown in the boot of a car and by a hugely fortunate coincidence is left with a working mobile phone. Again, sounds are important as Casey has to listen for clues as to where she is. Jordan has the unenviable task of keeping the teen calm and focused and getting her out of there alive. She is not only 911 operator but also crisis counsellor, detective and even friend. The relationship between the woman and the girl provides unexpected bursts of emotion with Breslin particularly putting in a brave, manic, desperate and despairing performance throughout. Though infrequent calmer moments provide brief bits of humour; Casey tells Jordan Bridesmaids is her favourite film; they also break the breakneck pace and alleviate the constant tension.

Once the chase is on for the kidnapper and Casey is confined to the dark space of the trunk, The Call really hits its stride. Jordan suggests many ingenious ways for Casey to reveal her location and the cops on her trail (including Jordan's boyfriend) are seemingly moments away from finding her all the time. It's like the recent Buried but with a girl in the boot of a car rather than Ryan Reynolds in a coffin. Tension mounts with the kidnapper soon getting wise to the shenanigans of Casey and Jordan and the body count rises as the kidnapper turns killer to cover his tracks.

Aided by some of the world’s stupidest (but sympathetic) Samaritans, the chase goes on longer than it should with the killer outsmarting the cops despite his clichéd lines, behaviour and performance from Michael Eklund. Eventually the pace lulls and in the final act The Call turns to the ludicrous side as the phones are put down and this being Hollywood, Halle gets a chance to get out from behind the desk and inevitably into the midst of the action. Thrill ride slips to slasher movie conventions in a particularly nasty final set piece but both Breslin and Berry make fine scream queens despite the increasingly silly set up.

Director Brad Anderson graduates from memorable low budget films like The Machinist to something more formulaic but also more thrilling. Excellent editing, cinematography and music keep The Call tense, immediate and effective. The script may descend into cliché and ridiculousness by the end but Anderson and his two lead performances keep things enjoyable even as events get nastier and the final scene turns completely laughable.

Release date:  September 20th, 2013

Running time: 94 minutes

Director:  Brad Anderson

Writer: Richard D’Ovidio

Cast:  Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund

 
Watch the trailer:

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CLOUD ATLAS will blow your mind

Cloud Atlas is finally out in the UK today after a long delay since it was released in the US last October. Here is my review of the epic film adaptation of David Mitchell’s best selling novel starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.

Six stories over six very different time periods. All put together these stories suggest the interconnectedness of human life both throughout history and across races, genders and boundaries of power and exploitation. Sounds pretentious? Well it should be but Cloud Atlas smashes through boundaries to become one of the biggest and best epics of the century so far.

From the 19th century to the distant post-apocalyptic future, humans appear bound to both each other and to making recurring mistakes, but also to form bonds of kindness and cruelty that can create ripples of consequences through history.

In 1849, a doctor helps an African slave escape aboard a ship; in 1936, a young composer is exploited by his older mentor; in 1973, a journalist comes under threat while trying to expose the dangers of a San Francisco nuclear power plant; in 2012, an editor tries to escape from a nursing home. Then in the future of 2144, a clone-slave in Neo Seoul escapes captivity to reveal the disturbing truth of her society; and finally in a post-apocalyptic future, the survival of civilization on a distant planet is threatened. Somehow these are all connected.

Slavery is present in numerous forms, love blooms in unlikely places and the human capacity for good and evil is explored across time and space. From the slave girls of Neo Seoul to the African slaves of days gone by, exploitation is everywhere, the ability of power to corrupt and for the oppressed to rise up is ever present.

Directors the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) pull off the impossible, transforming a book incredibly difficult to adapt into a visually stunning and brilliantly crafted piece of cinema. Some of the parallels and similiarities between the stories are made more obvious here than in the book and it makes for a more streamlined and coherent retelling, easier to follow and promoting themes to the forefront of viewers’ minds.

The choice to have actors taking on a multiplicity of roles is bold and brilliant. Though there are missteps (Tom Hanks' Irish gangster is a notable misfire), the idea that any actor can play any role, whether it be Black, White, Asian, male or female is central to the films thesis and despite the make up failing to hide the true ethnicities of the characters, the point is loud and clearly recieved. We are all the same underneath these labels we have given each other. Some have called it tasteless, but it is a brave and noble idea that on the whole succeeds.

Tom Hanks excels in some roles but dissapoints in others. Ben Whishaw emerges as a stand out, mainly as the young composer, but the entire cast admirably tackle their many roles, sometimes even completely disappearing under the layers of make up. Hugh Grant and Hugo Weaving also make the most of sinister characters, making memorable villains out of minor roles in a number of the stories.

Cloud Atlas is incredibly ambitious, an impossible adaptation that manages to capture the essence of the book and improve it with a streamlined and smart narrative structure. The directors have created breathtaking, visually astounding different worlds, taken a potentially pretentious idea and visualised it on a grand scale, both entertaining and intellectually stimulating.

There may be flaws and it may test some viewers’ patience but Cloud Atlas is an emotional and unforgettable piece of epic cinema.

Rating 4/5

Cloud Atlas is released in the UK on Friday 22nd February 2013. Watch the extended trailer below but be warned, it's nearly as long as the film!