Wow, the suspense!
- The Guilty review by PT
Sit back and live the suspense as the story unfolds for Asger.
Brilliantly simple setting and idea.
Brilliant acting!
The focus is tight, the story is intense and you are held in suspense while you live the story through Asger, and it doesn't let up once it starts right through to the end.
Totally believable characters.
Nothing Hollywood here ,,, just an excellent film.
In Danish with subtitles.
10 out of 10 members found this review helpful.
An outstanding one-hander
- The Guilty review by AB
First off - this film is subtitled. If you are OK with subtitles then this is a tense, psychological thriller. It is set entirely in a police emergency call centre, and is the story of how one cop handles a very difficult call from a kidnapped woman. He, Asger, appears to be handling the situation extremely well, until there is a horrible twist in the plot.
Although you only hear the phone conversations between Asger and the various people involved in the drama, you do feel that you start to know them and what they are going through. Asger himself has his own major problem, and this ordeal he goes through leaves him a better person. It is brilliantly done. Recommended.
6 out of 6 members found this review helpful.
Gripping
- The Guilty review by IG
Brilliant, well worth a watch: A very moving and evolving drama that holds your interest to the end, Jakob Cedergren delivers a strong performance.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Very unusual sub titled Danish film
- The Guilty review by Old Devonian
The main character is Asgar, a Danish policeman currently kicking his heels on the 999 phones. He is in every shot and puts in a super performance of controlled frustration. He is at the same time arrogant, caring and sympathetic and as he is humbled by the enormity of the effect of his arrogance he unwinds and falls apart. Exclusively shot in a small airless office with colleagues that are mostly silent, the sound and lack of sound and background chatter adds to the suffocating atmosphere. All the other characters are voices on the end of a phone and are totally believable. Such an unusual format but it really works and the work that Asgar puts into showing each and every emotion with just his face and hands is remarkable.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Amazing performance
- The Guilty review by CP Customer
What a great film, gripping from the start!
It amazes me how well this film is done considering the entire film is shot in 2 rooms with about 6 cast members and yet it seems like you have seen everything that you have actually only heard as part of a phone conversation, brilliant stuff.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
An unusual Danish thriller that you will never forget
- The Guilty review by Philip in Paradiso
The entire film focuses on one character -- a Danish police officer who has been posted to the desk of a 999 emergency hotline. Through him, we follow a case involving a young mother, who calls to say she has been abducted by her violent ex-partner. The action happens remotely, down the telephone line, as the officer liaises with colleagues on patrol and so on.
The suspense is unbearable at times and the plot is intelligently crafted. The police officer is unusually sensitive, one might argue, but the movie is, ultimately, about what it means to be 'guilty', as the title indicates, when things can be more complex and relative than one might imagine -- something that applies to the lead character himself.
A very good film you will not forget.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Once you start you cant stop watching.
- The Guilty review by CP Customer
Although subtitled very easy to follow. The whole film takes place in a Danish '999' call centre with a rather off hand copper handling the calls. One comes in that shakes him out of his lethargy, you never go outside nor see the other characters but the tension is gripping.
Sit back and enjoy how a thriller should be .
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
A Fascinating Film
- The Guilty review by SB
This was a very pleasant surprise. It is in Danish with English subtitles and focuses on one policeman manning a late shift in an incident control centre. He receives a call from a distressed woman who appears to be in fear of her life following a kidnapping. It is a typically dark Nordic drama that slowly unfolds through a number of frantic phone calls during the course of the shift. You can see the bond developing between the policeman and the woman which gets remarkably stronger as the plot takes a dramatic turn. Well worth watching!
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
A sub-titled Danish masterpiece.
- The Guilty review by DW
The other 5-star reviews are grossly understated! This terrific film is the first I've seen to be entirely set in a police emergency response room.
The sub-titles (something I normally avoid but will no longer do so) perfectly suited the dialogue: almost all the Danish words were in very short bursts so looked great in written English, especially when simultaneously showing dialogue from 2 people, i.e a question & the answer.
PS. Just kidding about the other 5 star reviews!
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Brilliantly-written Tense Crime Story which never leaves a Police Call Centre
- The Guilty review by PV
See, THIS is what you can do when you have a great script and a tiny budget. Take note all the lame boxticking pc BBC/ITV crime dramas which I no longer watch.
The main actor Jakob Cedergren is absolutely brilliant. This movie should have won Oscars. The decline of those awards may be the reason it was not even nominated.
I only rented this because the producer also produced the hilarious satirical film WILD MEN. I am now looking at other films made by the same director/producer and starring the same main actor who has credits as far back as 2005.
The script is spare, superbly paced, dripping facts into our ears like poison. OK so I guessed the 'reveal' early but then I doubt most viewers will. That did not spoil it for me at all. It made me admire the writer even more. NO SPOILERS but we need more films like this - instead of the focus always on socalled 'male violence' (40% domestic abuse is done TO men by women; and half of all child murders and most baby killings by women too, not men).
The best thriller i have watched for ages. It;s been remade in Hollywood, by the same director too. Not sure if I want to watch the remake though - they are almost always disappointing.
One note: the subtitles are very American (so we get 'baby carriage instead of 'pram' and more).
4.5 stars rounde dup.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
