The Call
Starring: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Michael Eklund, Morris Chestnut
Director: Brad Anderson
Rating: 3/5
Halle Berry returns to the big screen this week as she leads the cast in new thriller The Call; a movie that sees Brad Anderson return to the director’s chair for the first time since Vanishing on 7th Street.
When veteran 911 operator, Jordan (Berry), takes a life-altering call from teenager Casey Welson (Breslin) who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.
On the whole The Call is a solid movie as the story hooks you from the get go and there really is a sense of threat hanging over the first half of the film.
Once the kidnapping is under way the pace doesn’t let up and you never know if Casey’s last moments are just around the corner.
Director Brad Anderson really does crank up the tension with ever scene as Jordan becomes the only chance that Casey has of being found.
The bond that these two characters create under the most desperate of circumstances is really what drives the film forward; you really want Jordan to succeed as a way of redemption.
It is a good performance from Berry as she has deliver a lot of very emotional moments with no one to play off; she really only has the voice at the end of a phone to work with.
Jordan is a woman who is haunted by the decisions of her past and yet she fails to fold when faced with the same situation all over again. Berry manages to find the perfect balance between strong and vulnerable, and she delivers it well.
For three quarters of the film Anderson really does deliver everything that you expect from a film in this genre; tension, drama, suspense, danger and violence. But ht almost throws in away in the final act as the story does start to unravel.
Sadly, it does move into the slightly ridiculous territory as it builds to its conclusion and it really does end up being a little contrived.
The Call may not be a movie that you remember a year of even a month from now, but it is entertaining from start to finish and really will, for the most part, have you on the edge of your seat.
The Call is out now.
Tagged in Halle Berry