Director: Gustav Moller
By Alex Watson
Confining a movie to a single setting can be a sink or swim affair. Danish director Gustav Moller manages to crank the tension up to stifling levels in his remarkable debut thriller The Guilty. Impressively paced and making good use of the claustrophobic setting, few movies have made being at the end of a phone so nerve-wracking. Jakob Cedergren impresses with a bold yet complex central turn which gives the film layers as a result.
Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) is a Copenhagen cop forced to man the emergency service line whilst on administrative suspension. He simply hopes for a quick return to duty after his upcoming disciplinary hearing. That night, Asger receives a call from a distressed woman named Iben (Jessica Dinnage) who claims to have been kidnapped by her ex-husband Michael (Johan Olsen). Keen to play the hero and see this woman returned safely, he resorts to some frantic measures to get the job done.
The scenario of The Guilty isn't an entirely new one, but Moller is able to put a newer and more gripping take on this. Asger is a man who is already suspended under mysterious circumstances and when Iben calls he is able to gradually realise this is no mere call. Her ex-husband has a record of violence and quickly some harrowing facts begin to stack up about the scenario she is in. Stuck in his seat in a darkened room, Asger has to use all the tricks he can to stay ahead. Constantly bugging the North Zealand dispatch operator and his old boss Bo (Jacob Lohman), he is desperate to save this scared woman from an increasingly doomed fate. Partly you can sense he is keen for some good press following some clearly unprofessional prior behaviour.
The frequent close-up camera work by DP Jasper J. Spanning and the fine sound design of Oskar Skriver are the key elements that make Moller's picture tick. Through Spanning we can constantly see the gears of Asger's mind clicking as he attempts to solve the puzzle before him. The continuing silence is the tensest aspect of the film and as we hear the sound of the rain and traffic through the headset, it adds a little more realism. While Asger wishes to end everything peacefully, there's not a guarantee of a pleasant ending. While a brave individual who takes initiative, there is also a sense that his rogue streak may well end in his downfall. Continuously pressuring others to take matters into their own hands and get the job done, the reasons for his suspension soon become very clear.
As the minutes in The Guilty crawl by Moller swiftly turns the audience inside out as some disturbing revelations come forward in the final act. While it may seem implausible to some that Asger could go undetected by his superiors- especially when his shift ended, such quarrels are minor. Mirroring Steven Knight's thriller 'Locke' the suspense gradually builds and Moller makes his audience feel they are in the room along with Asger. Iben and Michael are a pair with a bitter history, but even the most steely-nerved person will be unprepared for the movies startling twist. Moller emerges a new Danish talent to reckoned with- few Hollywood thrillers provide this type of reality and we can expect him to be on the big stage soon.
Jakob Cedergren makes for a wonderful anti-hero in this picture and pulls off a hard-bitten role with bravado. Confined to a single room, the troubled expression on his face speaks loudly and Asger is trying to pull off an impossible task. Cedergren never strives to make this character heroic or likeable, he is just a guy attempting some kind of redemption. Is Asger really a good man or simply dodging a bullet? Through Cedergren there is a wonderful ambiguity to his actions that keep us wondering.
The Guilty is one of those thrillers which makes you sit up and appreciate good European cinema. There will surely be a remake of this film by Hollywood within the next five years- especially since it is a big contender for awards glory.
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