Review: The Guilty

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Written by: Nic Pizzolatto

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Eli Goree

Rating: [3.5/5]

Films shot in a single location set quite the challenge for themselves as they not only need a stellar script to keep the engagement of the story at a high to make up for a lack of visual dynamism on screen. This leaves the lead actor to carry the load as well but luckily when you have a combination as solid as what we get in The Guilty, it ensures we receive an enthralling and surprising story to keep us sucked in. 

Taking on a shift as an emergency operator at a 911 call center, Officer Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) receives a call from a distressed woman who says she’s been abducted. Joe tries to rush resources toward her to ensure her safety, which proves difficult because of the challenge of finding her and some personal demons haunting Joe. 

Operating as an English-language adaption of a Danish film that saw its release not that long ago, this feature seeks to bring the same intensity but give it the American cover of taking place in Los Angeles and the cultural differences we experience here. Typically these adaptations don’t fare well because when shifting it over to the American perspective it tends to lose exactly what made it so effective the first go-around. Seeing as I have not seen the original Danish film as of the writing of this review, I cannot compare it but what we receive here makes for a gripping watch that completely flies by.

Most of this takes place in one room in the 911 call center with Joe speaking on the phone with various individuals as he attempts to save Emily (Riley Keough) from this horrible situation bar a few in-person conversations he has with other members working in the office. This means visually we see plenty of Jake Gyllenhaal’s face as he talks with these individuals on the phone expressing various emotions from despair, relief, fear, and uncontrollable anger. Unsurprisingly Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job of carrying each of the emotions and the overall frantic nature of the story and you feel all of it with him. He captures the frustration of these circumstances where he has limitations in what he can physically do because he must stay in the call center and must merely instruct people on what to do and hope everything turns out well. It certainly builds great respect for those individuals who work at these centers and the excellent work they do and the unimaginable stress they must take on as the first line of communication most folks have when they find themselves in dire situations. 

A gradual stress builds throughout this feature as we learn more about the situation as well as get some more coloring on Joe as a character outside of this situation. Through conversations with colleagues it becomes evident he has something rather big looming in his mind remaining quite unclear deliberately to keep us guessing. His own personal issue then begins to intertwine with this stressful abduction as a bit of projecting begins to appear and this all combines for something incredibly stressful for him and, in turn, the audience who experiences this all with him. 

Lending their voices to the individuals Joe calls are some surprising actors with some of them sticking out very quickly. Those with a voice you could not confuse with anyone else like Ethan Hawke, Bill Burr, and Riley Keough. You also have the likes of Peter Sarsgaard, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Paul Dano also in the fray adding their own voices to the story in bit parts. They certainly positively contribute to the story but also at times pull back the curtain at times as the stress gets relieved a bit when you hear Bill Burr’s voice on the phone where you cannot help but laugh and think why they brought him on. Perhaps another reason why voiceover artists could have been utilized to minimize this distraction.  

Short, to the point, and effective, The Guilty provides a thrilling and emotionally impactful viewing experience. Essentially a one-man show for Jake Gyllenhaal and he thrives with the opportunity presented to him. The reveals in the feature certainly come as quite a surprise and flip the script very well. Certainly, an easy film to recommend to anyone seeking an enjoyable thriller and yet another banger by Antoine Fuqua.