Director
Gustav Möller
(Feature film debut)

Stars
Jakob Cedergren

An American remake of this new release from Denmark is already in development and will star Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role. This prompt decision is easily comprehended once witnessing the fairly unique and craftily executed set-up here, and when considering its 27 (and counting) award wins Worldwide, including the Audience Award for World Cinema – Dramatic at Sundance last year.

In THE GUILTY, the camera remains fixed entirely inside a single location with our protagonist as we eavesdrop on his numerous conversations regarding a situation that is happening beyond the four walls of the emergency contact centre he is working at. For reasons that become apparent later into the film, police officer Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren, who is in every scene) has been assigned desk and telephony duties. Shortly into his evening shift, Asger answers a call from a distressed woman named Iben, who has been abducted. Reduced to verbal communication as his only weapon, Asger faces a race against time, as well as some of his own personal demons, in his best efforts to locate and rescue Iben.

What transpires from this tantalising premise is suffice on its own to satisfy the film as a whole. However, THE GUILTY is more than satisfactory and adds greater intrigue to its story by ensuring that everything being thought, said and done in front of the camera is just as pertinent and significant to all that unfolds over the phone and externally. The cleverly written screenplay and structure of this movie has Asger learning several alarming facts about the situation he’s in the middle of simultaneously as viewers become aware of certain concerning issues that are present in his own personal life right now. The background work added to this primary character, his deteriorating conduct and how his temperament may affect both the outcome of the abduction and another impending event in his life greatly heightens the drama and raises tension levels. Furthermore, THE GUILTY never feels burdened by the weight of verbally illustrating what almost every other similar type of film visually depicts. In fact, it unlocks our imaginations in a true example of where less can certainly mean more.

(A strong) 3 ½ stars

Viewer Discretion
M (Mature themes and coarse language)