Director Antoine Fuqua started off this year’s Halloween season with a suspenseful and incredible thriller in “The Guilty,” released on Oct. 1. Jake Gyllenhaal, the star of the film, plays Joe Bayler, a 911 operator in Los Angeles, who receives a call from a woman in distress. Throughout the film, Joe handles the dire situation handed to him while battling his own demons.
The film focuses on Joe as he continues to answer and piece together several 911 calls pertaining to the woman who appears to have been abducted. As Gyllenhaal receives these calls throughout the film, he migrates between the main operator call center, a private call room and finally, the office bathroom— the only three settings of the film. With little to no physical interaction with others, Gyllenhaal’s character is somewhat isolated, and most of the communication happens over the phone. The camerawork allows for a good change throughout the film while still focusing on the suspenseful dialogue.
In the beginning of the film, massive wildfires fill the main office screens as operators take their calls, and at the end of the film, the fires are extinguished. The symbolism in this part of the film directly parallels the situations that build up and unfold throughout the storyline.
It takes incredible skill to give a fantastic acting performance by sitting in a chair for the majority of the film and talking to voices instead of faces. Throughout the film, Gyllenhaal portrays anger, frustration, urgency and anxiety, which can resonate with audience members. In the film’s run time, Gyllenhaal doesn’t blink in terms of his performance. Every tear, anxiety attack and outburst of anger was conveyed in such a convincing manner; Gyllenhaal pulled the audience into his world.
The film is dialogue-heavy, so much so that it doesn’t necessarily need to be watched, only listened to. The storyline and characterization are built through the dialogue, which is how the audience understands more about each of the characters over the phone. The only understanding of the situations is through the well-constructed conversations Joe has with other characters.
Even though this film seems as if it would focus more on the action and be filmed in more than three rooms, Fuqua uses that to his advantage. “The Guilty” is better than most action-packed films, with jaw-dropping plot twists. For those who crave an action sequence or a change in scenery, what Fuqua gives the audience is so much better. The assumptions created by initially watching the trailer or by societal norms are challenged, because not everything is what it seems.
Fuqua blurs the lines between the definition of good and evil. In “The Guilty,” humanity’s morality is challenged by demonstrating that these characters are not necessarily good or bad but a mixture of both. This film confuses the audience’s ability to objectively judge the characters right in front of them. Both the good and evil are concealed so well that when the truth is unveiled at the end of the film; it’s overwhelmingly shocking.