The Guilty - A Netflix Movie Review

Broken people save broken people. Be ready for your next case.

The Guilty was released to Netflix in 2021. A 9-1-1 operator issues a call from a panicked woman. Tracing down her whereabouts, Joe is persistent to get her out of this situation.

The Guilty is one nail-biting and tense film. Giving audiences a look into life as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, you immediately feel the weight lift off your shoulders at the conclusion of this film. The Guilty is a lesson to keep fighting and never give in.

Jake Gyllenhaal deserves a nomination for his riveting performance. He bears most of the film, stressfully trying to solve the case. Joe Baylor is not the nicest person and he knows that. He has a lot going on in his personal life which alludes to how he handles this disturbing call.

Gyllenhaal was excellent in the journey of his character. He did an excellent job in this role. I like how he transformed from being annoyed to serious. His best attention went to his composure, facial cues, and heart-wrenching emotional performance in the climax.

Not seen, but heard, The Guilty recognizes the importance of voice acting. Even if you are not seen, you are still acting. Only heard over the phone, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, Eli Goree, Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano, and several others sold the stress of the situation. Most of their performances were done over Zoom calls.

Keough was especially noteworthy in her performance. I recently just watched her in The Lodge. She is good at playing different roles, especially with a chilling nuance.

A small ensemble filled in as background parts in the police station. I like how the character sitting next to Joe for most of the film remained involved when he was not in focus.

The Guilty was filmed in October 2020. This was not an easy 11-day shoot. Director Antoine Fuqua was in close contact with somebody with Covid forcing him to do the entire shoot from a van off the premises of the soundstage. Gyllenhaal would climb up a ladder and talk about directions with Fuqua at a distance.

Camera angles were close and intense. Fuqua incorporated visuals and crafty edits. For some of the calls, Joe imagined what was going on at the scene in his head. That was realistic. Subtly is achieved.

Taking place in one setting, a 9-1-1 operator does not have an easy job. As seen, it takes courage to work at this job. Your dream job isn’t always a dream. Although it is unbearable, it’s better to listen to these awful situations over seeing them. We get a pretty good image visualizing the situations in our heads.

I was holding my breath throughout most of this film. There’s so much frustration. The Guilty is nail-biting, on-edge, haunting, and it is so intense. Situations seen in the film will likely trigger viewers who have been in relevant circumstances. It’s a good thing that we can’t see certain horrific disturbances. It’s a nightmare to just listen to the voices explaining what is going on.

This movie is not the same after being viewed a second time. At first, I thought that Joe’s personal story was unneeded but it is a focal point. You can change but it is not always good. We have to do what is right in any given situation, whether for better or for worse.

Just because this film ends, it has a long-lasting effect. Find The Guilty on Netflix. Be aware that it is a stressful story.