The Halle Berry film The Call came and went in theaters. It was beaten up by critics who claimed that the film was unbelievable, unrealistic and just plain dumb. Having suffered through several of Berry’s films which made me wonder who was choosing her roles I avoided the film like the plague until it recently hit DVD and I figured I’d try it. I mean I had been suffering through some low budget crap where no one could act, why not at least try a film with a cast of real actors?
The premise of the film is that Berry is a 911 operator who gets a call from a young girl alone in her house when a serial killer breaks in. It all goes horribly wrong and Barre steps away from being an operator. Acting as a teacher she again ends up colliding with the killer when she takes her class into the call center just as a call comes in from a woman who was just thrown into a trunk by the same killer.
This is way better than its reputation would have you believe. Say what you will about the details, the film as a whole is compelling. To be certain what happens in the film isn’t wholly believable, but at the same time it is compelling in the way that most crime shows and really good thrillers are because they get you to suspend enough disbelief that you have to see what happens next.
If the film has any flaws its in the final half hour where Halle takes matters into her own hands. Sure its cathartic for the character, but as a viewer its being asked to suspend too much. It’s the difference between having a guilty pleasure you can revisit and having a good time at a movie but not needing to see it again. I really liked the film but I don’t need to see it a second time.
Worth seeing on cable/netflix
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