This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Keep Your Cell Handy And Enjoy 'The Call'

"The Call" brings heart-pounding suspense to an mostly mundane filmgoing season.

 

You don't see many movies these days that are genuinely suspenseful without taking suspension of disbelief to an unacceptable level. But in most cases, you can hardly blame the filmmakers. In an age where everyone has a cell phone which is a source of almost immediate assistance as well as nearly unlimited information, someone actually being and remaining out of reach of today's sophisticated tracking systems kind of seems like a stretch.

 

Find out what's happening in Port Washington-Saukvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But “The Call” actually manages to get the job done. Halle Berry plays Jordan Turner, a 911 operator. To the movie's credit, it actually does manage to make her workplace a lot like any other, only with higher stakes and a few touches that show how the job can inflict some serious wear and tear.

 

Find out what's happening in Port Washington-Saukvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jordan is very competent at her job (that also gives ample opportunities for comic relief), until she gets a call from a terrified teenage girl who reports that someone is breaking into her home while she's alone. Just as the intruder is about to leave, the call is disconnected. Jordan decides to call back, the man hears the phone, and abducts the girl. The next news we hear of her is the discovery of her body.

 

Six months later, Jordan is still guilt-ridden and sticks to training others for the job she used to do. But when another teenage girl named Casey (Abigail Breslin) is abducted and calls 911 from the trunk of her kidnapper's car, Jordan is back on the call. Of course, she soon discovers that the kidnapper is the same twisted man who has been haunting her, and suspense builds as Jordan guides Casey through some very clever actions (such as kicking out a tail light and pouring paint out of it) designed to call attention to her plight and help find out where Casey is.

 

It's a smart premise that hasn't quite been done this way before, and the supporting cast creates a lasting impression that is all the more remarkable given how briefly they appear. Of course, a confrontation between Jordan and the killer is inevitable, and it happens in a way that's smarter than usual. But once it does, there are a few too many clichés such as a basement where serial killers play the same twisted little games, and a realistic heroine who turns into an action heroine.

 

But at its heart, “The Call” is mostly about two women struggling to overcome a killer in very different ways, so the movie ultimately rests on Berry and Breslin's shoulders. They are both excellent and bring some considerable heft to roles that could've easily just been mopey damsels in distress in other hands. Breslin manages to convey all the terror and fragile strength of a girl in a grim situation, and Berry brings a shaky competence and vulnerability as a woman who is determined not to let another girl slip through her fingers. Both of them feel real, and probably manage better than most of us would in a situation that would probably drive even the mere thought of logic straight to the darkest cavern of our minds.

 

In the end, there are things that we've seen before, but there's just enough character and novelty to it to transcend the problems. And even if you disagree with the ending, the last line is killer.

 

Grade: B-

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Port Washington-Saukville