2013 - IN REVIEW: GUILTY PLEASURE

THE CALL

Brad Anderson is a director I trust, but saying that, his work is not something I actively seek out.  When the trailer for “The Call” first came out, I’m assuming that I probably rolled my eyes and thought that would be the last thing that I ever would see.  I am not a fan at all of Halle Berry as an actress and the whole thing just looked as bland as anything and it had a real “been there done that” sort of vibe to it.  “The Call” looked as vanilla as it could get, and its potential as a thriller, I felt it anemic even before I had seen it.  I just wasn’t sure how they were going to be able to sustain any kind of suspense when the film’s two main characters were separated the entire time; one trapped in the boot of a car, the other a 911 operator obviously connected by phone.  I’m not sure when I became aware of Anderson’s involvement with the film, but once I knew of it, my interest had been piqued and sure enough, during a stage of boredom, I decided to venture out and see it, and was massively entertained by the whole damn thing.  Don’t get me wrong, I am under no illusions that “The Call” is a perfect film, it’s not.  It has a number of flaws, but I was so impressed by Anderson’s direction and ability to give this film a realism and immediacy to it, that made it very suspenseful and nail biting.  For once I was even impressed by Berry in the lead role of a 911 operator thrust back into the spotlight after being traumatized by a call that went bad some years early.  Abigail Breslin is also great as the kidnap victim Berry’s character is trying to save, while Michael Eklund can play these demented villain roles in his sleep and does so very well.  As good as “The Call” is, it does stumble at its finale when Berry goes all John McClane and leaves the 911 call centre to physically attempt to save the girl.  This is when the boundaries of reality are stretched (ok, they are flat out destroyed), and while it is disappointing especially in regards to what has come before it, the finale is no less entertaining because of it.  While I initially expected “The Call” to be utter trash, it has instead turned into my “Guilty Pleasure of 2013”, and yes, I now even own the film on blu-ray I enjoyed it so much.