Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.
Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a powerhouse solo performance carrying almost the entire film, but The Guilty is ultimately a remake of the acclaimed 2018 Danish film of the same name, which significantly caps its Novelty score. The single-location, phone-call-only thriller concept is executed with tension but the formula is borrowed. Cinematography is necessarily constrained by the desk-bound premise. The plot has a solid twist mechanism but relies heavily on the original's structure. The ending is serviceable but not revelatory for those familiar with the source material.