A man kidnaps a young woman (Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine all grown up), stuffs her in his car trunk and rides away to somewhere. Unbeknownst to him, the kidnapped woman still has her cell phone and can communicate with a 9-1-1 operator (played by Halle Berrie). Despite the fact that logic-wise, this doesn't work - how could the maniac fail to search for a cell in 2013 - I found this to be a very good thriller. The whole portion with the car was tense, exciting and splendidly filmed. In fact, I was impressed throughout by the camera work using, among other things, unusual zoom-ins to create claustrophobia and dynamic unconventional cuts to ramp up the tension. I also liked how for the longest time, the kidnapper's face wasn't shown. The Call could have been filmed in very standard, boring fashion but it wasn't and for me that makes the director, Brad Anderson, someone to watch out for.
That whole mid-film section was pretty great. However, the last tier, at the final location, despite some good, creepy moments didn't seem as strong although it was still good. I had trouble with a decision made by the heroine although it could be justified by the urgency of the situation. I'm not talking about the "twist" ending here. Acting-wise, I thought it was pretty strong all-around with Halle Berry being quite credible in her emotions. It might be a tiny thing, but what hurt my sense of disbelief was the amount of times "sweetheart" and "honey" was said by her. It was just too much, especially with a stranger. Overall, I found it a captivating thriller with great camera work. Better than expected as long as you don't get stuck on what the characters should have done.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (very good)
That whole mid-film section was pretty great. However, the last tier, at the final location, despite some good, creepy moments didn't seem as strong although it was still good. I had trouble with a decision made by the heroine although it could be justified by the urgency of the situation. I'm not talking about the "twist" ending here. Acting-wise, I thought it was pretty strong all-around with Halle Berry being quite credible in her emotions. It might be a tiny thing, but what hurt my sense of disbelief was the amount of times "sweetheart" and "honey" was said by her. It was just too much, especially with a stranger. Overall, I found it a captivating thriller with great camera work. Better than expected as long as you don't get stuck on what the characters should have done.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (very good)