The Call Reviews

I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Halle Berry, I thought I might as well check it out. Apparently, if you would put aside the X-Men franchise, it was the first box-office hit scored by Herry during the last 10 years but, to be honest, it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. I mean, I loved the concept of focusing on a 911 call-center operator, I myself worked in various call-centers for more than 10 years, so it was pretty neat to see a movie dealing with my line of work. Well, as long as the movie was focusing on the 911 call-center, it worked fine, even if the gorgeous Halle Berry gave a rather weak performance and even if some details just didn't work (for example, on a regular basis, you would see the whole work floor dropping their work to follow what was going with Berry's character, as if everyboy would suddenly stop to call 911). Unfortunately, even though they made it pretty obvious that a 911 operator usually never gets closure on a call, they gave us a really stupid 3rd act during which the main character suddenly became some kind of detective and resolved the case on her own. Anyway, to be honest, I think my rating might be generous here but, in spite of its flaws, it gave me a good idea of how a 911 call-center might work and I think the damned thing is still worth a look. 

I liked parts of this movie. Abigail Breslin is a great actress. I just didn't like the ending very much. All of the loose ends aren't tied up . . .

"911, what is your emergency?"

The Call displays tremendous promise during its opening hour, with several moments of white-knuckle tension compensating for a few of the script's shortcomings. Alas, in its final act, the film hopelessly falls to pieces, climaxing in an exhaustively stupid fashion guaranteed to have cinema audiences ridiculing it on their way out. With plot holes galore, some hammy acting, and a very moronic, easily telegraphed screenplay, The Call shifts from watchable diversion to outright insult, which obliterates its replay value. This is one of the most retarded motion pictures I have ever seen, and I've also seen many of Uwe Boll's movies.

In Los Angeles, Jordan (Halle Berry) is a seasoned 911 operator, but she's confronted with a disturbing call one night concerning a home invasion. She screws up, leading to the death of a girl. Six months later, Jordan has turned to teaching the new recruits in order to stay out of the line of fire. However, Jordan is thrust back into duty when teen Casey (Abigail Breslin) is abducted from a shopping mall by prowler Michael (Michael Eklund). Stuffed in the trunk of a car, Casey calls 911, but the cell phone she's using is hard to trace. As the LAPD scrambles to find her location, Jordan keeps the frightened teen on the line, reassuring her that she will be saved and instructing her about how to use surrounding items to her advantage.

With films like Session 9, The Machinist and Vanishing on 7th Street to his credit, Brad Anderson has made a name for himself in smart, challenging movies, but The Call finds Anderson as a gun-for-hire. The script is credited to Richard D'Ovidio (Exit Wounds, Thirteen Ghosts), his wife Nicole (a screenplay first-timer), and Jon Bokenkamp (Taking Lives, Perfect Stranger). The movie was also initially set to be directed by Joel Schumacher and was co-financed by WWE (yes, World Wrestling Entertainment). That's the type of flick we're dealing with. Characters disappear (Casey's friend is quickly forgotten about), while other characters are ignored completely (where are Casey's parents amid the crisis? Wouldn't they come to the call centre?), and the film plays out like more of a thrill-ride than a mature suspense movie.

Thankfully, Anderson's handling of the material is competent. His filmmaking is at its best during a brisk opening segment that introduces us to The Hive, the call centre for 911 operators. It's pure chaos, and we get to viscerally experience the commotion, watching Jordan as she deals with the fateful call. And, once Casey is kidnapped, there are a few moments that strike an unnerving chord; it's harrowing to watch a hysterical Casey trapped in a car trunk, and we get the sense of how frightening such an experience would be. The material is admittedly predictable, but Anderson plays the expected notes with finesse, keeping Casey's ordeal involving and terrifying. But the cracks in the script keep appearing, revealing The Call as an idiotic thriller that deserves to go straight-to-video.

Plot points throughout The Call are telegraphed well in advance; Jordan instructs the trainees to remain detached and never make promises, but she expectedly breaks both rules before the story's end. Likewise, Jordan's boss chastises her for misconduct early into the film but later applauds her for practically taunting Casey's kidnapper. The only thing that actually surprised me was the climax because I would never have guessed that any major motion picture release would traverse such moronic territory. Jordan decides to take matters into her own hands for the ending despite being a meek "by the book" type of person. This wouldn't be too problematic if Jordan were an FBI agent (a la Silence of the Lambs). But she's a 911 operator, and she suddenly changes into a "girl power" figure, showing herself to have more intelligence and investigative might than the entire LAPD. However, this is minor compared to the dreadful final two minutes of the movie, which single-handedly drop the film's value by several notches.

The Call is a powerfully dumb movie, even by Hollywood standards. The cops are painfully inept and never achieve anything worthwhile, and the characters are a roster of dull clichés. Michael's inability to discover Casey's cell phone will make you bang your head against a wall, and he keeps having to kill people in public in broad daylight, but no bystanders appear to witness the crime or do anything. The timeline is skewed, as well; Casey is abducted in the morning, but less than two hours later (as gauged by the phone's call timer), it's suddenly late afternoon, and the sun is going down. The battery life of Casey's phone is unrealistic as well; it still runs for a solid half-hour on its final flashing bar of life. Furthermore, when the situation with Casey breaks out, nothing else happens in The Hive. In fact, it comes to the point of pure silence, with other operators watching Jordan instead of fielding calls and no operators in the background stations doing their jobs. Apparently, everyone in the city conveniently decided to stop committing crimes for a few hours. Added to this is the ludicrous Hollywoodised technology used by Jordan, who can apparently turn up the background noise of a recording. Huh?

Certainly, The Call is watchable for the most part due to its visceral nature and the strength of its first hour, but you walk away disappointed that the filmmakers tried to keep things uncomplicated and generic for the sake of box office dollars. Honestly, the movie should not have detoured into depravity and formula since it works so well as a 911 nail-biter. With artistic integrity relinquished, The Call is a bust - it's a film begging for a more talented team of writers.

5.2/10

Warning: Spoilers

When a movie set for a March release date begins its marketing campaign two months before it hits theaters, you know that's not a good sign. However, I still had some hopes. The trailers look intriguing so I thought why not? What a mistake. When the words WWE studios flashed across the screen I realized what a fool I was and that I pretty much flushed $12 down the toilet (where this movie should have gone). Nothing against WWE, but they're not really known for putting out movies with great storylines or well-developed characters. The Call is a prime example.

I guess it would be unfair to label this as a complete crapfest because things start off with a bang and then fizzles once we reach the climax. The story is simple; Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) is a 911 operator who one day gets a call from a girl who is home alone. Someone is trying to break in. With the help of Halle Berry, the girl manages to fool the perpetrator and right when we think she's about to be safe, the line between her and berry disconnects. In a bone-headed mistake Berry calls back, giving away the girl. The girl ends up getting taken and is found the next day naked and buried in an undisclosed location. Fast forward 6 months later and we get to the central story. We see Berry is no longer behind the desk and is instead an instructor. However it's not long before we see Berry being sucked back into the same position she was 6 months ago when someone gets a call from a girl, Casey Weslon (Abigail Breslin). She's just been kidnapped and is currently in the trunk of a car. Through the guidance of Berry, they try to find ways for her to escape and then the movie starts to collapse as we reach the climax.

It's sad to see a movie start off promising, only to break one of Berry's rules (never make a promise you can't keep) by being hugely let down during the last thirty minutes. Even before the climax though, the movie faces a lot of issues. First, is the relationship between Berry and Breslin, it feels artificial. I suppose this is (obviously) because their time on the phone together is limited, but there's never really a click between the two. It also doesn't help that their characters are hardly ever developed, they're about as one dimensional as they come.

I was surprised to see how much Abigail Breslin has grown up. Her vocal work in Rango was great but, the last time I actually saw her was in Zombieland. Boy, what a change. I adored her as a child actor but, I sincerely hope this was just a misstep and that she won't be starring in anymore movies like these. Amongst all the actors in this movie, she annoyed me the most with her unconvincing whining. It was also creepy to see her treated as a sex object in the last thirty minutes since she's pretty much running around topless with only her bra on. Meanwhile, Berry gets to keep her shirt on. Just goes to show how messed up Hollywood (or WWE in this case) is. Berry's performance is serviceable. It's not bad but, she gets the job done I suppose. Michael Eklund gives a chilling performance and his character is at least somewhat fleshed out. He has an interesting backstory but, it's never fully explored. The rest of the cast spits out their lines, picks up their paychecks, and leave.

This would have been a typical thriller had it not been for the last thirty minutes, which makes this movie go from mediocre to just bad. For whatever reason, the writers decided that Berry behind the computers wasn't enough. Instead they decided she should go play detective and try to find Breslin herself. Not once while she's out trying to locate Breslin, does it even look like the idea of calling back up crosses her mind. She's now Ms. Sherlock Holmes all of the sudden. Even when she finds the hidden place (yes! she finds Breslin... what??), the reason they give her for going down by herself and not calling the cops is because she "accidentally" drops her phone down there and can't get any service (that's right you heard me). Then her character becomes a complete idiot, you know the killer always gets up. Why would you turn your back on him while he's down? The movie continues to spiral out of control until the end credits finally begin to roll.

I guess I've been a bit harsh. There are some things I liked but, they're not enough to justify the existence of this movie or why you should even bother seeing this movie. Despite the bumps along the way, the director does manage to build some suspense and tension. There are clever scenes like Breslin kicking out the taillight and waving her arm to get someone's attention. Also, I've never seen a 911 call center before but, I can believe it looks something like the one presented here.

Overall, this is just another movie to add to the rapidly growing list of bad movies that have come out thus far. Sure, there are some suspenseful and clever scenes, and Michael Eklund gives a creepy performance. Also, the filmmakers did a nice job creating a believable and realistic looking call center. However, everything else about the movie is trash. It's not worth anyone's time or money, if you're still interested in this movie I suggest waiting for it when it comes out on DVD and renting it. Other than that, this is one call you don't want to answer.