In Guilty, Jake Gyllenhaal is just on the phone. But you can't tear yourself away from the movie

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The chamber picture combines detective thriller and drama, with an emphasis solely on acting.

Guilty, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is released on Netflix on October 1. The film was directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day"), who has already collaborated with the actor in the sports drama "Lefty".

Guilty is a remake of the 2018 Danish project of the same name directed by Gustav Möller. In both versions, the action takes place in the same room. But the unexpected plot twists and talent of the authors make it possible to turn the story into a gripping thriller.

Action in which the hero sits still

Police Officer Joe Baylor was demoted to the position of rescue operator during the trial. Most often, he has to communicate on the phone with victims of petty crimes, or even with people in an inadequate state. But then a certain Emily gets in touch with Joe, who seems to have been kidnapped and taken in an unknown direction. The operator calls the highway patrol, but takes this matter very personally and does his best to help the stranger.

Throughout the film, the viewer is shown exclusively Baylor himself in the call center. In the background, his colleagues sometimes flicker, but all the other characters - the victim, the suspect, the policeman with whom the hero used to work - will remain only voice-overs. By the way, very famous actors were invited to the voice acting: Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard and others.

This is not to say that this format is a new word in cinema. More chamber projects based on telephone conversations have appeared more than once. In Loke, Tom Hardy's character travels in a car throughout the film and communicates with different people. In Buried Alive, Ryan Reynolds' character lies in a coffin. There is even "Alarm Call" from Apple TV +, where the authors abandoned live filming altogether: the series consists only of recordings of voices under an abstract video sequence.

But this does not detract from the merits of "Guilty". The talents of Gyllenhaal and Fuqua made the action surprisingly dynamic. Just a couple of scenes for a few seconds visualize the hero's idea of the crime, after which the viewer's imagination will itself finish what is happening. And as events gather pace, so does Joe's behavior.

For a chamber story, the film has a very subtle entourage: tension is created, for example, by huge screens broadcasting forest fires. They play a role in the plot and just add anxiety. In addition, one can note the rather calm shooting at the beginning of the picture, when the hero is annoyed only by the annoying journalist, and the quick camera switches closer to the end.

In addition to the main topic, "Guilty" touches on the issue of lockdown, and very well. Other authors, who wanted to emphasize the fact of isolation and connection with the world only through a telephone or computer, too deliberately lock their characters home. And Fukua reminds that a significant part of the profession is primarily to monitor life from a closed office.

All of this sounds more ironic if you learn about the process of making a film. “Guilty” was removed in just 11 days. But just before the start of work, it turned out that the director was in contact with a person who fell ill with COVID-19. Therefore, Antoine Fuqua commanded the process sitting in a closed van and watching the actors through the monitors. Much like the hero of Gyllenhaal does in the film.

The detective in which the victim is not visible

Presenting what is happening solely from the point of view of the main character is not just a form of presentation, but a great way to confuse the viewer. Guilty is partly built on the idea of an unreliable storyteller, only in a modified form.

Viewers initially associate themselves with Joe and accept what he believes in. But it is precisely his subjective and too emotional perception that does not allow us to see events as they really are. Although along the way, the authors give hints.

These are not spoilers: there should be sudden turns in a detective story, and here, with a strong desire, they can be predicted. But it's much more interesting to watch how the characters' behavior changes. Including Joe himself.

If you think about it, "Guilty" is devoted not so much to attempts to save an unfamiliar woman, as to the reflections of the protagonist. There are no less deceptions hidden in his image than in the main plot. Gradually, it becomes clear why Joe is so zealous for a random case. This will reveal itself through calls to his wife, conversations with colleagues, and even outbursts of anger.

As a result, the story consists of saving Emily, analyzing the mental problems of the hero and his attempts to come to terms with his own past. The detective turns into a personal drama that touches much more. It's not for nothing that the entire film is dedicated specifically to the character of Gyllenhaal.

Remake, which added relevance

It is worth making a reservation right away: those who watched the 2018 Danish original will not find anything new in the plot of the Fukua film. All events are repeated, except for a couple of little things. For the United States, this is a common story: foreign films are not very popular in the country, and even more so in other languages. Sometimes this leads to the fact that European directors make remakes of their own films for Americans. So, for example, did Hans Petter Muland, turning his "Foolish Business Simple" into "Snowblower" with Liam Neeson.

Still, Antoine Fuqua did not just copy Möller's work, transferring the action to the United States. The paintings have a slightly different atmosphere. First, the temperament of the protagonist changes. Where Jacob Södergren carefully hid emotions from the original, Gyllenhaal turns the aggression to the fullest. And both of them look equally organic.

Secondly, in the new version, they manage to add problems that are urgent for America. We are talking about the mentioned fires, which constantly flicker in the background and even distantly interfere with the hero. Together with other small details such as the office environment and various life topics, this allows you to make a remake not with a sterile tracing paper, but with a completely individual author's work.

“Guilty” once again proves that to create a tense situation it is not at all necessary to force the heroes to drive cars and jump off cliffs. You can just invite a great actor, give him a vivid image and make the viewer immerse themselves in the story. The chamber picture of Antoine Fuqua is more engaging than many action films. Literally half an hour later, you forget that all this time only the main character was shown. And for the rest of the film, the action simply does not come off.