The Guilty

Name: The Guilty
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: October 19, 2018
Duration: 85 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Jakob Cedergren, Jakob Ulrik Lohmann, Jeanette Lindbæk, Jessica Dinnage, Johan Olsen

2018

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 23 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 98 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 98 Ratings

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The Guilty (US Clean Trailer)

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: October 19, 2018 | Not Rated

Starring: Jakob Cedergren, Jakob Ulrik Lohmann, Jeanette Lindbæk, Jessica Dinnage, Johan Olsen, Katinka Evers-Jahnsen, Laura Bro, Morten Suurballe, Omar Shargawi, Simon Bennebjerg

Movie Facts:

The Guilty won the the Audience Award: World Cinema (Dramatic) at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Summary: When police officer Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) is demoted to desk work, he expects a sleepy beat as an emergency dispatcher. That all changes when he answers a panicked phone call from a kidnapped woman who then disconnects abruptly. Asger, confined to the police station, is forced to use others as his eyes and ears as the severity of theWhen police officer Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) is demoted to desk work, he expects a sleepy beat as an emergency dispatcher. That all changes when he answers a panicked phone call from a kidnapped woman who then disconnects abruptly. Asger, confined to the police station, is forced to use others as his eyes and ears as the severity of the crime slowly becomes more clear. The search to find the missing woman and her assailant will take every bit of his intuition and skill, as a ticking clock and his own personal demons conspire against him. [Magnolia Pictures]… Expand

Director: Gustav Möller

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 85 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Observer (UK) Wendy Ide

Nov 8, 2018

The film’s narrow visual focus – much of the drama plays out in the face of police officer Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) – accentuates the crackling cleverness of a screenplay that allows us to unravel a mystery in real time. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Oct 19, 2018

Despite, or perhaps because of, these constraints, it’s one of the most cinematically alive movies of the year. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Oct 18, 2018

If the setting of The Guilty couldn’t be simpler, its immaculate execution by first-time director Gustav Möller couldn’t be more gripping and involving. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Gustav Möller’s short, taut debut feature never leaves the claustrophobic confines of the call center, but builds a vivid aural suspense narrative through the receiver, all while incrementally unboxing the visible protagonist’s own frail mental state. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Despite focusing entirely on a single individual speaking into a headset in a Danish emergency call center, The Guilty nevertheless emerges as a twisty crime thriller that’s every bit as pulse-pounding and involving as its action-oriented, adrenaline-soaked counterparts. Read full review

Richard Whittaker

Oct 18, 2018

Without ever feeling stagy or theatrical, The Guilty is an exquisite reminder that all you need is four walls and a great performance. Read full review

David Fear

Oct 18, 2018

The Guilty is many things, not all of which work 100-percent of the time. But it does succeed as one hell of a radio play with benefits, letting a literal call-and-response crime procedural play out in real time. Read full review

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User Reviews

JohnMurlowski

Dec 9, 2018

This is the most gripping movie I've seen in years. The filmmaking and the lead (and only) actor is stunning. See it before they ruin it with an American remake.

5 of 5 users found this helpful50

Ananisapta

May 9, 2019

This is the best drama I've seen in years! It follows the classic Greek rule of unity in action, place, and time -- a single character and some voice actors, in a confined area, in real time, lasting a bit more than an hour. The authors mercilessly toy with your assumptions and prejudices,This is the best drama I've seen in years! It follows the classic Greek rule of unity in action, place, and time -- a single character and some voice actors, in a confined area, in real time, lasting a bit more than an hour. The authors mercilessly toy with your assumptions and prejudices, and have the courage to leave you a bit up in the air at the end. Not to give it all away, "Who ya gonna call?" is the question. The ghost of Sigmund Freud hovers over the shoulder of a singularly satisfying dramatic performance.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Brent_Marchant

Aug 1, 2020

This chilling tale of an overzealous but compassionate Copenhagen policeman assigned to emergency services desk duty while on probation serves up a taut, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about his valiant efforts to aid in the investigation of a possible kidnapping of a young motherThis chilling tale of an overzealous but compassionate Copenhagen policeman assigned to emergency services desk duty while on probation serves up a taut, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about his valiant efforts to aid in the investigation of a possible kidnapping of a young mother by her ex-convict husband. Told almost entirely through a series of phone conversations between the officer and his colleagues, the victim and the alleged perpetrator, writer-director Gustav Moller relies on the sound of his performers' voices to carry the story, forcing viewers to use their own imaginations to visually fill in the gaps, an expert use of Hitchcock's rule if there ever were one. The result is a harrowing journey into the minds of the characters, as well as the viewers' own minds, aided by a script loaded with unexpected twists and turns. This captivating offering reaches out and grabs the audience's attention despite its simple, play-like staging, presenting a gripping story that only gets better the further along it goes. A genuine and vastly underrated cinematic knock-out.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

aboode95

Jan 12, 2019

A story so gripping that you'd be glued to your seat. If you think you want to just play a movie in the background while you do something else, you can't do that with this movie. Thriller is written all over it. And the exclamation part is that the whole movie is inside one place. A feelingA story so gripping that you'd be glued to your seat. If you think you want to just play a movie in the background while you do something else, you can't do that with this movie. Thriller is written all over it. And the exclamation part is that the whole movie is inside one place. A feeling of helplessness kicks in, barging through the door and you are left wondering what is going to happen next? What will he do? Truly a must see movie.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

DawdlingPoet

Nov 21, 2021

I found this quite a compelling watch, I suppose primarily because we're following the situation entirely from the viewpoint of the call handler. We can only imagine whats physically happened or happening and so there's a lot of suspense. I felt I could relate to the police officer takingI found this quite a compelling watch, I suppose primarily because we're following the situation entirely from the viewpoint of the call handler. We can only imagine whats physically happened or happening and so there's a lot of suspense. I felt I could relate to the police officer taking the call, wanting desperately to help the lady in trouble and her kids but being hampered with limited information to pass on.

I would definitely recommend this film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

amheretojudge

Dec 9, 2018

Miller's skilled mannerism on verbally melting you down on your very right spot through speculative display of antics is frankly just plain impressive.

Den Skyldige Miller's skilled mannerism on verbally melting you down on your very right spot through speculative display of antics isMiller's skilled mannerism on verbally melting you down on your very right spot through speculative display of antics is frankly just plain impressive.

Den Skyldige

Miller's skilled mannerism on verbally melting you down on your very right spot through speculative display of antics is frankly just plain impressive. It is a concept that has been overridden aplenty in the past despite of its uniqueness, but somehow Moller has seems to have decoded it. At a brisk of ninety minutes of showdown, his stage is busy and compelling enough to bedazzle you with one face. In his defense, that face is expressive. Narrowed down into a brief period of husky content, the concept is gripping enough to boost the makers for a much longer time, arguably the entire film. With an infomercial ground as such, there is very little space for the writers to weave out a genuine emotion out of such a confined place that is crowded to its full.

Smartly, the writers has a backstory that they are not ready to reveal until the very last moment, they are waiting for the iron to be at its weakest stage in order to strike the hammer. And sharing that mutual thought or emotion, the only reason they took this much time is to create that arc, kudos to the writers to pull it off. Armed with such a brutal script, co-written by Moller himself alongside Albertsen, it is also a difficult subject to execute upon.

Since there is not much room for Moller to satisfy the itch of using the camera work to its creativity, he has few tricks up his sleeve. And he is not a guy that quits at round one, he uses the tense environment on the script to foliate it by making Cedergren fumble on actions and words. He also uses props and surrounding of the office like shutting down the drapes, switching to a highly functional and efficient computer or table to increase the stakes.

In order to depict the day to day issues that they go through with, he imputed various other cases as a phone call that sends a vital message out there. Another major aspect he uses for the audience to visualize the off screen action is by using sharp sound effects and clear cut audio on phone to makes thing easier. Aforementioned, Cedergren is the apt choice for such a role, his chiseled jawline should not be judged upfront, his vocabulary is generous, his words firm and his eyes speaks the guilt that the film has been endorsing about.

Despite of various emotions he goes through the one that gets to you, is where there is a silent pitch on screen and there is nothing but him breathing is what's left between you and him. The primary reason why Moller's world is adaptive and the tale absorbing, is how humble it is, each character is dipped on their sorrow and is yet ready to shred the last inch of their life for the betterment of others, and on that beautiful note, it is hauntingly poignant. Den Skyldige is more theatrical act than it is cinematic, all the cards are not won over by it, but then not all of it were dealt.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SergioMa

Jan 9, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Classic tale with expected outcome. You'll guess the ending when you pass the first third of the movie. Bold directing with only one production set, but didn't reach the hoped for results.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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