'The Guilty' follows Joe Baylor, a police officer that has been demoted to 911 operator duty following an initially undisclosed incident. Set over the course of a single night, Joe scrambles to save a distress caller and soon learns that nothing is as it seems.
The feature opens with Joe struggling to breathe, as he nests in the office bathroom during his communications shift. As he resumes his duties, Joe is shown having a short temper and little patience for the callers as they are not as forthcoming with information that he needs. Joe fields a few personal calls and it is revealed that he is due for a trial in the morning, after which he is expected to return to active duty. In parallel, Joe also contacts his wife, from whom he has separated, insisting that he wishes to speak with his daughter before bedtime, being rebuffed due to the late hour and his wife's impatience towards reconciling their relationship. At the same time, Joe is hounded by a local reporter who wants to question him to 'get his side of the story,' referring to the upcoming trial Joe has to attend.
Later on Joe answers an emergency call from Emily who pretends she is on the phone to her child. Before Joe hangs up due to thinking that the call is made in error, he surmises that Emily has been abducted. After answering a few yes or no questions, Jo manages to ascertain that Emily is in a white van heading out of the city. Joe tries to call the California Highway Patrol in order to flag down the vehicle, but as they have no license place to go on, the patrol pulls over the wrong car. On investigating, Joe comes across Emily's home phone number and speaks with Abby, Emily's daughter, who reveals that she has been left home alone with her baby brother Oliver. Eventually managing to get Emily's ex-husbands phone number from Abby, Joe calls Henry from his private number, angered towards him as he learns Henry has a criminal record of assault, ultimately threatening Henry, insisting he will track him down and find him and Emily. Thereafter, Joe contacts Rick, his partner, now off-duty, and asks him to go to Henry's home and investigate to find clues as to where they might be going.
On the phone to Emily again, Joe asks her to find something she could defend herself with. As she finds a brick at the back of the van, Joe instructs her to strike Henry with it and flee to get away. Meanwhile, Jo has arranges for officers to go to Emily's home to look over Abby and Oliver. As the officers arrive, it is revealed that Oliver has been injured from cut wounds. Immediately after, Rick contacts Joe to reveal that there are letters pointing to a psychiatric facility. After speaking to Emily once more, it comes to light that Emily was the one to injure Oliver, as she believed him to be in pain, yet is a result of delusion, pointing to Emily's previous submission to the psychiatric institution. On speaking further, Emily comes to realise what she has done. In trying to prevent Emily from jumping from an overpass, Joe candidly reveals that he killed a 19 year old boy that was not in self defence. As the highway patrol manage to get to Emily before she jumps, Joe's superior informs him that Oliver has been taken to the ICU, indicating that the child is still alive. The final scene shows Joe in the bathroom, as he makes a call to Rick, asking him to testify in court and speak the truth, a conversation which reveals that if Joe pleads guilty will result in him not seeing his daughter for years. Distressed, Joe accepts the truth and resigns himself to coming clean about the murder he committed. The film closes on news and radio voice-overs that reveal Joe to have been found guilty of manslaughter charges.
'The Guilty' is an intense thriller located entirely within the limits of an office, yet managing to create a complete picture of the world beyond the borders of the communications centre. As the film focuses solely on Joe, we get to witness his story slowly unfold in front of us, revealing his strained family situation, the intense passion he commits himself with to his work and the circumstances of the upcoming trial that he is to face. By the use of intermittent phone calls Joe receives, from his wife, the journalist, his partner and the 911 emergency calls, the story pushes along one revelation after another that allows the viewer to piece together the complete picture of Joe. The pacing of the film allows the viewer to feel the intense speed at which Joe has to deal with the incoming calls, allowing the viewer to experience the anxiety that all of us have felt at one point or another when we are on the line, yet see an incoming call of equal or greater importance, leaving us helpless to manage the pressure of the situation. Conversely, the film also puts us in a position of helplessness by way of being unable to control the situation, as we see that at times Joe does not have enough information to go on to proceed matters, and is left waiting for another call to come for him to be able to do anything about the current situation. The creator of the film, director Antoine Fuqua has masterfully captured the distress of being both hounded by calls of critical importance whilst also maintaining the limitations that are imposed on a caller when their calls go unanswered and they are left waiting to hear from the other side.
The main character Joe is portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal as the brash and proactive police officer that is struggling with his impending trial and the guilt he feels for his actions. Joe is not portrayed to be likeable or even pitiable, as the character quickly reveals his short temper and somewhat of a lack of respect for the current work that he is doing. However, as the film progresses Gyllenhaal manages to pull the viewer in by demonstrating the passion with which he attempts to resolve the emergency call placed by Emily. As Joe goes further down the rabbit hole to track down and rescue Emily, the revelation of her being the guilty party crushes Joe, where Gyllenhaal exceptionally illustrates the moment at which his character breaks down and realises that he has to right the wrongs he has done, not only in the present circumstances but also regarding his past actions. The final scene where Joe speaks to his partner truly cements the actors ability to portray a deeply revealing and touching character in showing us the full extent and weight of the guilt Joe feels and the sacrifice he is about to make in giving up seeing his daughter, even though it is something he could avoid.
'The Guilty' is a remake of the original 2018 Danish feature, based on Gustav Möller and Emil Nygaard Albertsen's work. Without having seen the original, the remake can be truly impactful, as the reveal is delivered in a shocking and unsettling manner, creating a memorable viewing experience and retaining a quality of novelty due to the limited setting of the office and only for the calls to evoke illustration of the outside world. Even though the film is an adaptation, it still creates an intriguing world that is thrilling to explore and only enhanced by each incoming call, all held together by the tragic downfall of Joe and him coming to terms with his past.
Score: 3/4
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