There is the main character who is good but not perfect, and there is the one mistake she makes that almost destroys her. And there is her nemesis, engaging her at a challenge greater than any she has had to confront before.
The Call models just about all the techniques of good storytelling. Character, plot, action, and suspense—all the ingredients of a good thriller are there, and blended well. Halle Berry gives a superb performance heading a cast that is capable overall. We can sense and feel the story as it happens.
The bad guy is always a step ahead. Except when he is two steps ahead. Except when the protagonist undertakes a bold new move and, if it works . A big "if," that is.
On a couple of occasions, this movie gives stinging reminders of human fallibility, specifically lapses of good judgment that can cause a situation to deteriorate. We want to beckon the characters in front of us to do certain things, and fast. But they are either too daring or too guileless to anticipate the curveballs that are about to hit them.
Frustrating as that may be, the ending holds a twist gratifying enough to compensate for those frustrations. That even glosses over a certain lack of dénouement—perhaps the one part of storytelling this movie could have used more of. Or was it part of the plan to leave a few things to our imagination?
The Call models just about all the techniques of good storytelling. Character, plot, action, and suspense—all the ingredients of a good thriller are there, and blended well. Halle Berry gives a superb performance heading a cast that is capable overall. We can sense and feel the story as it happens.
The bad guy is always a step ahead. Except when he is two steps ahead. Except when the protagonist undertakes a bold new move and, if it works . A big "if," that is.
On a couple of occasions, this movie gives stinging reminders of human fallibility, specifically lapses of good judgment that can cause a situation to deteriorate. We want to beckon the characters in front of us to do certain things, and fast. But they are either too daring or too guileless to anticipate the curveballs that are about to hit them.
Frustrating as that may be, the ending holds a twist gratifying enough to compensate for those frustrations. That even glosses over a certain lack of dénouement—perhaps the one part of storytelling this movie could have used more of. Or was it part of the plan to leave a few things to our imagination?