The Guilty
The crime is bigger than you think
Overview
Police officer Asger Holm, demoted to desk work as an alarm dispatcher, answers a call from a panicked woman who claims to have been kidnapped. Confined to the police station and with the phone as his only tool, Asger races against time to get help and find her.
Backdrop
What makes this movie Worth Watching
Originally a Danish film, The Guilty was remade in the United States with Antoine Fuqua directing and Jake Gyllenhaal starring. This illustrates its strong storytelling ability that transcends language barriers.
- The Guilty delivers a suspenseful and gripping narrative, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.
- It showcases stellar performance by Jakob Cedergren who portrays the main character with depth and intensity.
- The movie explores themes of guilt, redemption, and responsibility in an intriguing manner.
- Despite being set entirely within a single location - a police call center - it maintains a high level of tension and drama.
Fun Facts
- The entire movie takes place over the course of one day, emphasizing the ticking-clock tension.
- Despite being visually confined to a single location, the film uses creative audio techniques to create a sense of space and movement.
- The original Danish title 'Den Skyldige' translates to 'The Innocent', but the story revolves around a guilty character, suggesting a twist in the narrative.
Available Languages
English
US
Title: The Guilty
"The crime is bigger than you think"
Dansk
DK
Title:
"Forbrydelsen er større end du tror"
Italiano
IT
Title: Il colpevole - The Guilty
"Una stanza. Un telefono. Un colpevole."
Français
FR
Title: The Guilty
"Le crime est plus grand que vous ne le pensez"
Nederlands
NL
Title: Den Skyldige
""
한국어/조선말
KR
Title: 더 길티
"지금부터 모든 소리는 이 사건의 단서가 된다!"
Where to Watch
Cast
Crew
Reviews
Absolutely loved it - a "small" but great movie, and best proof that you don't need a big budget to keep an audience glued to the screen and at the edge of their seats. It's basically a room, a man and a telephone, and still manages to tell an intense story (and with a twist). Grim, but still has a few fun moments of relief. Fantastic performance by Jakob Cedergren, who also turned out to be a really nice guy (saw it Zurich Film Festival, and there was a Q&A with him). If you have a chance, go see it!
Great stuff, I love films like this.
'The Guilty' is a film that takes place at just one location, something that always has the potential to hinder a film's watchability - but when it's done right, there is nothing more engrossing to watch, and this 2018 flick is just that.
I did predict where it was going, but as I always say: predictability in itself is never a negative, for me anyway. I can still appreciate what a film attempts to do and can enjoy seeing the filmmakers pull it off. The whole 90 minutes or so of this is absorbing, it's portrayed superbly throughout - terrific dialogue, editing, sound and, of course, acting.
Jakob Cedergren makes for a top quality lead. A brilliant performance! Given how the film is told, the rest of the cast don't have much to work with so it's very much the Cedergren show - but, still, the likes of Jessica Dinnage, Katinka Evers-Jahnsen and Johan Olsen add to the film positively with their more audible contributions.
I'm fascinated to see how the American remake went of this. I'm a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal's and I think I have seen an image of him next to a red light, which I presume is in fact a shot out of the 2021 retelling. I'm hoping they did something with it similarly to Gyllenhaal's 2011 film 'Source Code', which I adore, but I shall see at some point in the future, hopefully. As for this, I'd highly recommend it!
Oscar Awards
Wins
Haven't Won A Oscar
Nominations
Haven't Nominated for Oscar
Media
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Michael This Stops
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A Favor
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Iben Defends Herself