The Guilty takes place over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch call centre. Call operator Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) tries to save a caller in grave danger, but he soon discovers that nothing is as it seems, and facing the truth is the only way out.
This is one of those films where the lead character tells the whole story and is the whole story. The camera is on Gyllenhaal for the full 90 mins and he pulls it off, brilliantly so, keeping you hooked into what his own secret may be. Why has a street copy like himself been banished to the phones?
Gyllenhaal ‘meets’ several other characters throughout the movie as inbound 911 callers, but you never see their faces, you only hear their voices. It’s a bold directional move which is pulled off by the initially unlikeable character of Joe Baylor who is rude to colleagues, bored with his position, but who is projecting a serious amount of anger and guilt that only intrigues more as the film goes on.
The Guilty is the perfect script for post-pandemic production; none of the characters need be any closer than a desk’s distance away. Netflix has categorised The Guilty as ominous and suspenseful. We think they’ve got that right; it’s worth a look.
Watch the trailer for The Guilty below. It’s available to stream now on Netflix.
