The 2013 dramatic thriller became one of WWE Studios' most successful products. The total fees for the story of a call center operator saving a young victim from the clutches of a maniac amounted to $ 68,572,378 with a production budget of 13 million. In addition, in the film âAnxious Challengeâ, director Brad Anderson managed to create a unique driving and tense atmosphere without âface-to-faceâ starring. IMDb feed rating: 6.70.
Almost production drama
The theme of "stolen on the wire" in the cinema has been worked out countless times, but this does not stop at all from enjoying the thriller. According to reviews, âAlarm Callâ contains all the necessary elements to ensure the success of the genre picture. The narrative holds unrelenting tension, prompting the watchers to worry about both heroines - the unfortunate car locked in the trunk, stolen by Abigail Breslin and the operator on the verge of a nervous breakdown, played by Holly Berry.
The film âAnxious Challengeâ (2013) is almost completely devoid of any mystical or spiritual motives; it is an exemplary thriller on the verge of a production drama, from which an attentive viewer can learn a lot about the work of the employees of the rescue call center. It can be recommended for viewing for the public who wants to tickle their nerves.
Tension and drive
The production name of the tape was âBeehiveâ, because the staff call it a call center in a narrow professional circle. But since the narrative is not focused on their workdays, the rental subheading âThe Callâ unambiguously hints what to expect from the picture. This authorial move was appreciated by many critics in the reviews of âAnxious Callâ.
Genre projects, the realization of the plots of which became possible due to the mass distribution of mobile phones, are sometimes called call or megalopolis thrillers in the film industry. They almost always differ in incredible tension and squeaky drive, even in those cases when you least expect the drive. Recall only the âTelephone Boxâ by Joel Schumacher, in which the central character throughout the tape is in the box of the payphone.
At Anderson, one heroine is constantly sitting in front of the computer, the second is in the trunk, but the drive is relentless, and suspense is rampant. By the way, the director of âTelephone Boxâ was supposed to shoot the thriller, but for some reason he left the project. Then the producers invited Brad Anderson.
After a series of creative setbacks directed the Machinist, he worked on TV, but in 2013 he returned to the big movies, gaining experience in wiretap and underground empire. Spectator reviews for the film âAnxious Challengeâ (2013) contain a minimum of regrets about the director's replacement.
Plot
In the center of the story is a kidnapped Casey Welson locked in the trunk of a car. Only hunt for the kidnapper, except for the police, will be a simple rescue operator Jordan Turner. Six months ago, the heroineâs mistake led to an irreparable tragedy - the girl who called 911 was killed. Therefore, having received a call about the abduction, the operator considers it his duty to save the unfortunate victim at all costs.
A police investigation is being conducted in parallel with the rescuers observing the movement of the abductor, the same maniac who killed the girl who was seeking help from the service operator six months earlier. Thirsting for fair vengeance, Jordan Turner personally at some point sets off in search of scores to kill the murderer.
Maniac calls twice
Most reviewers from the audience in reviews of âAnxious Callâ admired the number of plot twists throughout the entire timing of the tape. The spectator seems to spend the third part of the picture in the trunk with the victim, a third - at the operatorâs workplace and the remaining time - in the âfieldâ conditions, fighting not for life but for death with the maniac. A well-structured narrative structure allows us to characterize the project as âsolidâ, âhigh-qualityâ, âprofessionalâ, and this way one can speak not only about the script, but also about casting.
Among other things, the townsfolk in their reviews of the âCall of Distressâ note the directorâs unconventional approach to portraying the work of law enforcement agencies. He is categorically realistic. The law enforcers are far from helpless, but not omnipotent: for every achievement in technology there is a human factor. A couple of times the director sacrifices logic and realistic reliability, deliberately playing along with the maniac, but this fact does not cause indignation among the audience.
Visualization
There are some individuals among the audience who have left negative reviews for the film âAnxious Callâ. In their subjective opinion, the visualization of the thriller leaves much to be desired and does not cause empathy at all, since it looks monotonous. A close-up of the operatorâs suffering eyes alternating with burning light bulbs on an electronic map showing the movements of the attacker and his victim. Sometimes the camera switches to police Paul Phillips (Morris Chestnut), part-time boyfriend of the heroine operator. The officer is gradually convinced that he is following the trail of the same criminal that his lover had previously encountered when she could not save the victim.
The authors' skepticism also provokes a decisive expression on the face of Holly Berry, depriving her final fight with a maniac of minimal intrigue. It immediately becomes clear that the wretched mental disorder of the villain is powerless against the reinforced concrete determination of the heroine to do work on mistakes.
Criticism
Critics in their reviews of The Anxiety Challenge (2013) were more supportive. The only detail that movie experts made fun of was the overly curly hairstyle of Holly Berry.
One of the prominent filmmakers of our time, Andrew Barker, in his review, compares Andersonâs work with David R. Ellisâs Cell scheme, echoing the Silence of the Lambs. And it emphasizes the many advantages of the thriller, including a fascinating story, good dynamics, a strong acting. Film critics Chris Hewitt and Todd McCarthy confidently say that most of the tape is very exciting, which makes the thriller a quality product. However, according to experts, the film loses quality at the moment when the main character leaves her workplace.
Acting ensemble. Halle Berry
There is an opinion that the game of a professional actor is built on the inner nerve. Some performers develop a string with professional techniques, while others have fateful moments that become a source of experience for the rest of their lives.
The only black Oscar winner unmistakably turns a standard thriller with heroes-functions into an exciting dramatic story with living people. Life experience helps her in this. The fact is that when the future actress was only 4 years old, her parents separated. The reason for the divorce was the constant beatings on the part of the father, from which the baby Holly and her older sister suffered. The injuries caused concern that the performer knows the happiness of motherhood. Fortunately, everything worked out; in 2008 and 2013, Berry gave birth.
As you know, the director of "The Machinist" B. Anderson did not mind mocking the performers involved in the cinema. Christian Bale lost almost 30 kg for the role in his project; Woody Harrelson visited Russia. Halle Berry also had a hard time, already pregnant she plays a woman losing a baby. Let a stranger, but it doesnât matter.
Abigail Breslin and Michael Eklund
Talented actors in âThe Call of Challengeâ divide the space equally.
Abigail Breslin is convincing in demonstrating the transition from a panicked, frightened blonde to an "action girl" who has almost flown off the coils. Despite the fact that at 16, the performer lost her little charm for Little Miss Happiness, which brought her an Oscar nomination, she copes with the role no worse than her older colleagues. Her transformation from an innocent schoolgirl to a frantic revenge angel is comparable to the role of D. Arterton in The Disappearance of Alice Creed or E. Page in Lollipop.
The kidnapper Michael Foster, performed by Michael Eklund, is exactly the way the audience is used to seeing maniacs - cruel, neurotic, frightening. Some authors tend to consider his character one of the most terrifying Hollywood murderers in recent times. The villain in the interpretation of the actor is not a philosophical wise guy, not a killing machine, not a serial killer, but the most real maniac. At the same time, it is terrible and miserable, it is either cold-blooded and collected, it panics. Few would risk being in the trunk of his car.
Powerful Thriller
Let the original in the "Disturbing Call" quite a bit. But the thriller has other advantages: harmony and clarity of the story, dynamic narration, the brightness of the characters. Composer John Debney wrote the soundtrack essentially typical of the thriller, but taking into account the "setting" and therefore it incredibly organically fits into the outline of the film.