The Call Dialing you into their World

            The Call was a movie that I counted down to its release. The thing that really appealed to me about it was that it was a kidnap movie from the point of view of 911. That was something I had never seen before and was eager to get a peak at. Sadly though, the movie was a bit of a letdown and though I still enjoy watching it today, I just don’t seem to find myself watching it often.

            Jordan, Halle Berry, is a veteran 911 operator. She’s seen it all. But after a call goes horribly wrong she finds herself teaching the new recruits rather than taking the calls. Then one day Casey, Abigail Breslin, finds herself dialing 911 from the trunk of a car and it would seem that Jordan is her best hope for survival.

            This movie was sold to audiences as a thriller about a kidnapping through the view point of the 911 operator. For the most part this is true and very exciting. At some points because our main character is not locked in the trunk of the car, but rather in an office, it leaves us to use our imaginations about what is happening to poor little Casey and let’s face it, our imagination is better than anything the writers could have come up with. But, then we get to what many refer to as the third act of the movie, about 75 minutes in. At this point the movie almost seems to change its purpose. The second that Jordan leaves the office to find Casey The Call seems to lose the interest of a majority of its viewers. It becomes cliché. Some even argue that it changes genres, from a crime/ thriller to a horror/ serial killer. Either way it’s sloppy, and you can feel the shift as you watch the movie. But, even with that big mark against it there is still some good to be seen. Breslin and Berry work well together, and though they don’t have much screen time together you can feel the chemistry they had was good. I was going to say something nice here about Richard D’Ovidio’s screen play, but as I tried to form the thought only negative things came to mind. The 911 calls sounded like a help line for a toaster. (Is the product plugged in?) The advice that is given to Leah, Evie Thompson, in the beginning of the movie is good, but the reaction the screen play made her take was just ridiculous. Jordan told her to go into a room, not her room, and lock the door. This would mean if you know your room’s door doesn’t lock you go to another room that does have a lock. Also, while I’m on the soap box I would like to bring up my issue with Jordan’s phone in this movie. She drops it at one point and before it falls a good 10 feet down onto a hard ground you get a good glimpse that it is a newer smart phone. Then when the phone hits the ground it’s fine, still works and isn’t cracked. I would just like to say now that they should mass produce that phone, because it will save people a ton of money in the end. Also movies like to try to give obvious clues that things aren’t working and I would just like to point out that when a phone has no signal a big picture of a phone with a red slash through it and the words “no service” do not appear on your phone's screen. I set out to say some nice things about The Call and found myself pointing out problems again. I feel that it will be hard for you to believe me now when I tell you this is an okay film. It’s not really one you need to see anytime soon, but if you’re looking for something a little different try watching The Call and make your own call about it.

Curious about this movie? Go on and click to watch the preview.
Here's a slightly different look at the next movie Prisoners.