REVIEW: The Guilty (2021)
SPOILERS AHEAD
DISCLAIMER: This review talks in detail about the events of the film.
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"Broken people save broken people." This is a line from the 2021 film The Guilty, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. This line sums the entire movie up.
The Guilty follows troubled police detective Joe Baylor, who has been placed on 911 operator duty, and ends up having to handle the case of an abducted woman.
What's interesting about this film is the fact that it focuses on one person, Joe. The whole movie, he is the main face you see. A couple other faces pop up for a minute or two, and then it's right back to Joe as the main focus.
The soundtrack is ominous and loud, depicting a serious tone for the film. It starts low, at the beginning of the film, suggesting an impending dramatic event.
Slowly, throughout the film, the music fades in and out, at times when Joe finds out something incriminating, or can't figure out what's happening.
I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.
The film opens up with the quote "And the truth shall make you free" from John 8:32, with pensive music slowly rising.
Then the viewer sees the city of Los Angeles, engulfed in smoke and orange due to the spreading wildfires.
A audio news report of the wildfires plays, as car horns blare in the background. The news broadcast fades out and in comes a flurry of 911 calls being made. It starts with one about the fire, and then the viewer can hear gunshots with a woman saying "He's got a gun!"
The calls go back to one about the fires, with sirens and car horns in the background. Then a male caller appears saying "Someone stole my truck with my three-month-old daughter in the back."
All the while the audio chaos is playing, the viewer sees an orange city, with wildfires spreading in the background.
A helicopter passes over the camera shot, the calls fade out, and it cuts to black. The pensive music returns with text appearing on the screen saying The Guilty.
As the viewer, we then see the blurry extreme close-up of Jake Gyllenhaal's eyes, with the sound of him coughing.
As the scene fades out of blurryness, we then see him coughing, all shots remaining extreme close-ups. It starts with his eyes from the front, his mouth with his hand rising, then back to his eyes with a side shot.
A high-pitched ringing sound fades in and gets louder as we see him shake an asthma inhaler. The extreme close-ups continue, we see him raising the inhaler to his mouth, then back to his eyes.
During these close-ups, the background is a dull white, and the high-pitched ringing continues. The high-pitched ringing comes into effect throughout the film, playing in moments where it feels like the protagonist has lost control and has started panicking.
After he takes a puff of the inhaler, the extreme close-ups zoom out to reveal Jake Gyllenhaal's whole face and shoulder, and the high-pitched sound fades out.
A toilet flushes in the background, revealing the setting to be a bathroom. At this point, the camera zooms out to reveal more of Jake Gyllenhaal and the room.
A nameless character exits a stall, heads to the sink to wash his hands and says "Damn fires. The air is so bad." Jake's character continues coughing while he says this. The dialogue is drowned out and the man remains blurry, keeping the focus on Jake, with the extreme close-ups coming back.
As Jake's character washes his hands, we hear his breath shaking. The shot turns blurry again as he exits the bathroom and the audio of a phone ringing starts playing.
The extreme close-ups return, showing Jake's character in his role as a 911 operator. His first call is from a man whispering "Help me. Help me," while the operator says his greeting, "911. This is Emergency Operator 625. What is the address of your emergency."
At this time, the camera pans to the computer screen, showing the subscriber information of the caller, including the location and name of the caller.
Jake's character asks if he's speaking with Dru Nashe, the name that appeared for him on the screen, and asks if the caller is located at 1304 Briarwood.
The caller begins to panic saying "No no no. It's dark and I can't breathe." Jake's character pressures for more information regarding the location of the caller, so he can help in whatever way he needs.
The caller continues panicking, saying "Fuck no, no, no." Jake's character admits to the caller that his system says he's calling from Pacoima, to which the caller responds with more panic.
Jake's character responds and takes note of the panicked tone of the man's voice and proceeds to ask him if he took drugs. When the caller admits to taking drugs, Jake's character proceeds to ask him what he took, and how he ingested it.
The whole scene focuses on Jake's character and his reactions to what the caller is saying, however, the viewer can hear everything the caller is saying as if they were in the same room. Every noise is elevated, the dialogue, the breathing, the background noises.
Each call Jake's character takes throughout the film is similar to this. We see Jake's character only. We see his in-the-moment reactions to everything he is hearing, but at the same, we as the viewers, are getting the audio of the calls loud and clear.
While the first caller panics and hangs up the phone, we see a shot of Jake's character's phone ringing, but the screen says 'No Caller ID.'
Jake's character answers with the line "This is Joe." This is the first time we hear the character's name.
The call is from The Los Angeles Times, asking Joe if he could answer a few questions about tomorrow. The call is ominous as the caller doesn't identify themselves straightaway.
Joe asks who's calling twice before the caller identifies themselves as Katherine Harbor, a journalist. When Joe confirms she's a journalist, her response is "Yeah, I thought I said I was. I'm with the Los Angeles Times."
Joe confronts the journalist saying "Shouldn't you introduce yourself properly before you ask questions?"
He asks her how she got his number, she mentions that she's writing about his case, and he proceeds to ask her a second time, "How'd you get this number?"
The camera shot pans out as he says "No comment," to show a wider shot of the precinct, when another officer jumps up saying "Baylor, No calls. I already told you."
He mumbles to himself, "Thought that was the f***ing job," and proceeds to carry on with work.
The high-pitched ringing sound returns as Joe places his fingers against his head like he's experiencing a migraine. The phone rings again and the ringing dies out.
He answers a call from someone wanting to speak with the fire department, then another from a man called Matthew Fontenot. He claims to have been robbed, but as the call carries on, Joe realises the man lied.
The man continuously claims he was robbed, refusing to leave his car, and says he's in Los Angeles on business. He begins arguing with Joe when his location is requested.
A woman's voice can be heard in the background of the call, with Joe letting out a chuckle in reaction to the caller's answers.
Joe asks the caller if he sees the Wells Fargo building, to which the caller replies yes. Once Joe gets more information such as the licence plate number, make and model of the car, and description of the woman who supposedly robbed the caller, he calls LAPD Communications. A Sergeant Miller answers the phone.
It's revealed that Sergeant Miller and Officer Joe Baylor know each other. They speak a little about their jobs, and then Miller says "Tomorrow, you're going to be back on the street." This relates to the cryptic message behind the phone call Joe receives from the journalist.
Joe proceeds to explain he has a caller who has been robbed by a prostitute, which explains the smiles and chuckles he showed during the call.
Miller and Joe proceed to talk a bit more about the job and a case from the week prior. Joe then asks if everything is okay with Rick. This character comes into play later in the film.
Throughout the film, the director pans camera shots down to see Joe grabbing his inhaler, holding his inhaler in his hand, and looking up at the video footage running in the background of the fires.
These are interesting shots. As a viewer, I took the inhaler shots to mean that Joe was stressing about something, and the inhaler was like a security blanket for him. The video footage shots I took to show the chaos happening around him while Joe deals with an intense shift at work. His own chaos.
Joe gets up from his desk to grab a cup of coffee, to which he finds out there's barely any coffee left and only half a packet of sugar. He looks around and notices the other people working beside him for a split second. While this is happening, the viewer can hear and see the other calls being taken by other dispatchers.
The audio fades out as the pensive music creeps back in, and the viewer sees Joe staring through a window, looking at images on a wall. He pulls his phone out, revealing an image of a little girl on his screen.
He puts the phone away, asks to take a break, and walks out of the room into a quiet hallway. He then dials a number, reaches a voicemail, and says "I know I'm not supposed to, um... But if Paige is awake, uh, could I say good night?"
As a viewer, this told me the little girl on his phone screen is his daughter and he's having trouble at home.
As he heads back into the room, the scene cuts to a shot of him dropping what appears to be a dissolving tablet into a glass of water. The background audio dies down as the sound of the tablet fizzing rises.
Joe fades slowly out of blurriness into the shot, just staring at the fizzing water, while the high-pitched ringing fades back in.
This gets progressively louder until his coworker startles him by alerting him the phone is ringing. This snaps not only Joe but the viewer back to the reality of the scene.
This is the call that is the premise of the whole film. When he introduces himself over the phone, all that can be heard is a breath shaking.
Joe introduces himself again, and when he gets no answer, asks if this is Emily calling, as that is the name that appeared on his screen.
As soon as the woman starts speaking it's clear she's in some sort of trouble, but it takes Joe a minute to realise, as at first, he believes the woman has been drinking.
As the call progresses, the woman's terrified voice becomes clearer, and Joe hears a man's voice in the background. This is what alerts him to the fact this woman is in trouble.
When he realises the man doesn't know Emily called 911, he said he would be asking her yes or no questions, in order to keep it sounding like the woman was speaking with her child.
In the background, cars and car horns can be heard as if the woman is in a car driving. He proceeds to talk her through the call, reminding her to keep pretending that she's speaking with her child.
He places her on hold once he receives the necessary information, then calls California Highway Patrol (CHP) to advise them of the situation. Joe calls this dispatch over and over throughout the duration of the film, giving them updates, and asking them for updates. In my opinion, due to the fires, this dispatch sounded as if the abducted woman wasn't their priority, and were wasting Joe's time.
Because Joe isn't able to get exact information such as a precise location and the licence plate number, CHP says they are unable to assist at certain times, as they don't have enough information.
While Joe is distracting the abducted woman, and trying to find out more information, his phone rings, the contact reading 'Jess.'
He panics, saying 'Oh shit,' which confuses and panics the abducted woman on the line. He proceeds to keep distracting the woman on the line, ignoring the phone call from Jess.
When he reaches the point of finding out the colour of the car, and what type of car it is, the woman on the phone says 'Van' instead of saying "It's fine" to confirm the answer.
She panics and says she has to hang up, to which Joe protests, however, is unsuccessful. The woman hangs up, but not before Joe tells her his name.
He calls CHP back to explain he lost the caller and asks for air support. It's revealed air support isn't available due to the extreme weather caused by the fire. He asks for the officer to call him from the inside line, and when the CHP dispatcher asks what he's trying to do, Joe gets agitated. Seemingly too quickly, which is a reaction he has multiple times throughout the film.
The shot sees Joe placed in the centre of the screen, with only the noise of his coworkers around. The phone rings again and it's the officer calling from the inside line. Joe remains on the line as the officer chases a white van up the highway. However, they are unable to confirm the colour due to the amount of smoke in the air.
As the phone call continues, we see shots from the front tyre of the police car, showing the action happening as we, the viewer, hear the commotion on the call.
The shots fade between Joe listening on the phone, and the action shots from the front tyre of the police car. During this time, the viewer sees Joe's actual reactions to what he is hearing over the phone.
More extreme close-ups come into play of Joe listening. First his ear, then his eye, then his mouth.
It's then revealed the police chased the wrong van and that there was no woman inside. Joe gets frustrated and hangs up on the police officer.
He calls CHP back and when it's revealed that the only information he has is "a white van," they say they need more information and that he should look for a licence plate number. He asks about closing the freeway, and when he's put on hold, the high-pitched ringing returns.
When it's revealed they won't do this. Joe is agitated once again. In the blurry background, we see one coworker looking his way, and another who tells him to be quiet again. They remain blurry.
A close-up shot of his hand reveals he's squeezing his inhaler. A recurring theme in the film when he's frustrated.
He proceeds to do some more research and calls the home line of the abducted woman. A little girl answers and when speaking to her, he finds out her name is Abby, she's six years old, she has a little baby brother, and her parents aren't home. The whole time Joe and Abby are speaking, Abby has a terrified tone to her voice.
Joe asks her questions such as "Does your daddy have a big white car?" and "What does your mummy call your daddy?"
These questions allow him to poke further into the case, researching more about Emily and her abductor. He also stumbles upon the licence plate number of the van and manages to get the number of Abby's father.
He finds out the father of the girl, Henry, is the owner of the van, has abducted her mother Emily, has a criminal record, has been incarcerated, and was wielding a knife.
The whole time Joe is on the phone with Abby, she is crying out for her mother. Joe consoles Abby, telling her her mother will be okay. He explains he's the police and that police are protectors. Abby doesn't believe this, saying "You hurt people. You took my daddy away."
Abby continues crying for her mother as Joe continues to console her, helping her stay distracted. She says she doesn't want to talk anymore, so Joe teaches her to call 911 and reminds her that his name is Joe, before she hangs up.
Joe's coworker asks him what's happening, to which Joe gets agitated again, and says for the coworker to mind his own business.
He asks the rest of the precinct if anyone has received a call from an Emily Lighton, the abductee, to which his coworkers all say no.
He calls CHP back to let them know the plate number and other necessary information. He then asks to send patrol to the house where the two little kids are alone. CHP remain focused on finding the van, rather than the safety of the children.
As a viewer, it's easier to see that this call gets to Joe. He tries to insert himself above his current jurisdiction multiple times, receiving shot-downs at every point. This, however, doesn't stop him from trying things his own way.
He asks for a welfare check on the children, to which he's told there's an extended ETA. He then gets another call to his personal phone, and in the midst of his emotions, he fumbles the phone to the ground.
When he answers, it turns out to be the reporter again, bringing back to light something is going on with Joe that the viewer still has to find out.
The high-pitched ringing returns and fades just as quickly, leading into a scene that sees Joe speaking with his coworker Manny. He apologises for his behaviour, invites him for a beer, and asks him a technical question.
He picks up his notes and heads for a silent, dark room across the hallway, relogging into his system. This is where the majority of the rest of the film takes place.
He calls Miller again and asks for a welfare check on the children, as well as a police unit sent to Henry's home, to kick in the door and find out what they can. He gets a car sent to the children, but Miller refuses to send someone to the felon's house.
During this dialogue, Joe loses his breath, coughs, and clutches his inhaler. When he explains that he spoke to a terrified six-year-old girl and promised her mother would come home, his voice starts to break, indicating he's choking back tears. This is one part of the emotional rollercoaster Joe experiences throughout the film.
When Joe pushes to have a car sent to both locations, Miller pushes back saying, "You're in enough trouble already," once again, bringing the viewer's attention back to what Joe is facing personally.
When speaking with a few people throughout the film, Joe is asked if his reactions and emotions have anything to do with tomorrow, once again revealing that his personal challenge is coming up soon.
As he fights to get a police unit sent to both locations, the high-pitched ringing returns, and so does Joe's coughing. While the call with Miller is coming to a close, Joe shakes his inhaler, preparing it for after the call.
Towards the end of the call, Miller mentions Joe will be attending court tomorrow, giving a little more insight into Joe's personal challenge.
Joe proceeds to call Emily, the abductee, back, receiving her voicemail. He then calls CHP to find out if they've found the van yet, to which they say no.
The camera moves from Joe's face thinking, to his hands moving back and forth like an anxious tick. He picks up his cell phone and dials Jess, the woman he called in the beginning, which was revealed to be his wife.
The call gives the viewer some more insight into Joe's personal life, revealing that he and Jess have been separated for six months, that he's staying in an Airbnb, and that he continues calling, to which Jess says confuses Paige, his daughter.
He asks about a job interview she had, to which she reveals it hasn't occurred yet. Throughout the call, we see Joe go through a bevy of emotions, not knowing what to say, claiming he can't sleep, and admitting he's losing track of time.
He asks Jess if she's heard anything about Rick, bringing this character into play again. It's obvious this character is an important one, and that Federal officers have something to do with Joe's personal crisis. As he finds this out, the pensive music rises.
As she hangs up, sombre music starts and we see the picture of Paige on his phone screen again.
The phone line rings again, and it's another caller who refuses to give Joe information, which agitates him once more.
During the film, we see him do everything he can to help the abducted woman, including calling Henry, the abductor. While he is speaking to Henry, we can hear a woman whimpering in the background of the call.
Joe confronts Henry over the phone, saying he knows what he's doing, and threatens him with more jail time.
Henry hangs up and doesn't answer a second call, which once again, pushes Joe into an emotional turmoil of anger.
We see this back and forth continue throughout, moving from Joe attempting calls, finding out information, and experiencing every emotion but happiness.
The high-pitched ringing returns more and more during the film. When Joe gets nowhere with Henry, he calls his "partner," who is revealed to be Rick.
Joe asks him to go to Henry's house, saying he'll explain when he gets there. Joe hears people in the background of the call, leading him to believe Rick has been drinking. It's then revealed Rick is his witness in court the next day.
Rick admits to being scared about the outcome of court, telling Joe he had Feds at his house, and admitting to having a few drinks. It's also revealed it's been eight months. This isn't elaborated on, but as a viewer, I took this to mean Rick and Joe haven't been partners for eight months, and that Joe has been on 911 operator duty for that duration, awaiting the court hearing.
A coworker of Joe's reveals he's got a phone call from a little girl, revealed to Abby. Police have arrived at her door, and she's scared because her mother said never to answer the door.
Joe calms her down and gets her to open the door. He listens in to the call, speaking with one of the other officers. It's revealed Abby is covered in blood, so the officers proceed to check on her brother.
While listening to the call, the extreme close-ups come back, and a musical chime is heard in the background. Then, panic. The officers request medical immediately. The rest of the call of chaos revealing the little boy has been hurt.
At this point in time, Joe's shift has ended, but he decided to stick around. He calls Henry back, confronting him about attacking his baby.
Rick arrives at the address and Joe advises him to kick in the door. A dog is heard in the background, and Rick proceeds to enter the home, to which Joe advises him to find what he can.
The sound that is audible from the phone calls sounds like we, the viewers, are the ones on the call. It's clear, precise, and contains every little detail, from heavy breathing, footsteps, doors creaking, and more.
Joe proceeds to call Emily back, in the background cars can be heard passing. Joe advises Emily to put her seatbelt on and pull the handbrake hard. We hear tyres screeching, and horns honking, then the line goes dead. Joe tries her again and gets voicemail.
He then receives a call from a man saying he crashed his bike and hurt his knee. As Joe is in the midst of a crisis, he's confused at the call and hangs up, as all he can think about is the case. Another phone call comes through, and it's the same guy who crashed his bike. Joe hangs up again.
The phone rings a third time. It's Emily saying she did what Joe said but that it didn't work. She sounds terrified and continues mumbling "I'm gonna die" and "I don't want to get locked up."
In the chaos of dealing with the case, Joe accidentally calls Miller instead of CHP. He gives them the most recent information, and they say they need a better location.
Emily's terrified voice returns, and it's revealed that she's now in the back of the van and can't see anything. She keeps repeating "He's gonna lock me up" and "I don't wanna die."
The camera shots revert back to extreme close-ups as Joe tries to calm Emily down. When we see his face in the low light of the station, he appears to be sweating and red. He talks talks Emily through breathing exercises and helps her find some bricks, to which he advises her will be her weapon to get free.
While he talks Emily through breathing exercises, the camera pans down to his hand, and we see him once again clutching his inhaler, with the sounds of him coughing rising in the background.
He attempts to distract her by asking her what her favourite food is and what she likes to do with her kids while instructing her to keep breathing.
The whole time he is on the phone with her, there is one shot of Joe taking up the screen. More extreme close-ups come into play as he listens intently to what Emily is saying.
The pensive music kicks in again. We hear the car brake, the indicators clicking, sounding like a heartbeat. The indicator lights appear on the screen, and it fades back to Joe instructing Emily on how to escape.
She advises her to put the phone away while she's crying and panicking. She then says "He was so angry. Oliver's fine. Oliver's fine. He isn't even crying now."
This confuses Joe. We see the confusion come across his face as Emily says, "The snakes."
Joe pries more, with an expression on his face that tells the viewer he's starting to worry. Emily says, "He was in so much pain. They were in his stomach. He kept crying because he had snakes in his stomach. And I just took them out."
Here we see Joe realises Henry wasn't the one who murdered their son, Emily was. His face looks worrisome and panicked as suspenseful music creeps in.
The call gets more chaotic as we hear Emily attacking Henry, attempting an escape, while Joe sits silently listening, a troubled look on his face.
The line goes dead, with Joe sitting there, still in silence. We hear his cell phone ringing again. It's Rick. He has been sorting through paperwork at Henry's house and found out the couple went to court over custody, Henry lost visitation rights, and there are unpaid medical bills for a psychiatric hospital. Emily was a patient.
During the call, Joe is quiet, we hear his breath shaking, then him realising what Emily meant by not wanting to be locked up.
There's more silence following this call, Joe sitting with his head in his hands. The climax of the film has slowed down.
He calls Henry back, confirms he's at the psychiatric hospital, and that Emily has escaped, and then confronts him about not getting help. He argues that Henry should've called the police, and we hear Henry's worried voice and crying, revealing if the police showed up, he's worried about being arrested again.
Over the call, Henry mourns his son's death, while Joe sits back and listens. He listens to Henry's pleas and explanations, without saying a word. Joe then attempts to calm Henry down, while Henry panics about Abby.
At this point, Emily is in the wind, and Henry reveals that she doesn't understand what she's done. We see Joe pushing back tears, and attempting to keep a composed attitude.
He tries contacting Emily again, gets her voicemail, loses it, and smashes desk objects, while the high-pitched ringing returns.
Another coworker advises him Emily has called back. Joe is on the verge of a breakdown at this point. During the call, we see Joe pleading and attempting to stay composed. He remains on the line while getting his coworkers to call CHP.
This call reveals Emily is on the overpass and is suicidal. Joe attempts to talk her down. While pleading with her, he chokes back tears and is sweating more than before. This is where we hear Joe's story.
He explains the reason he has a court date with a witness the next day, and spells out the whole story for Emily, explaining that he has killed a 19-year-old kid. He says to her "I can't kill you too."
During his attempts, Joe starts to break down. He chokes back tears and his voice trembles. The extreme close-ups return, showing his desperation. But, despite all his attempts to talk her down, he fails and the line drops dead.
He calls Emily's number multiple times after, realising she jumped. He contacts CHP extremely worried. They reveal she's okay. Joe starts crying, a massive look of relief in his eyes.
A coworker walks in to give him a message from the officer who went to the home with the children. It's revealed the baby is alive and is in the ICU at the hospital.
Joe is in shock, not believing it at first. Here's where the line "Broken people save broken people" comes in, and it sums up everything the viewer has just witnessed.
Pensive music creeps in, Joe heads to the bathroom, the viewer witnessing him finally letting himself breathe. Sombre music plays as he heads to the bathroom. He begins coughing again, more intense than before. He takes a puff of his inhaler but it doesn't help.
The high-pitched ringing comes back in. He drops his inhaler in the sink and proceeds to throw up in the toilet. All the adrenaline he experienced throughout the night has settled down.
He falls to the floor, breathing heavily, as the sombre music kicks in again. He looks at the picture of his daughter on the phone again, and dials Rick.
He tells Rick to tell the truth in court, to which Rick refuses, saying he won't change his statement because they'll destroy Joe. While the call is happening, Joe finally breaks down. He then dials the journalist, a look of lost hope on his face.
The scene cuts to black, we hear a helicopter, and the city of Los Angeles appears again, with The Guilty spelt out in the middle of the screen.
News anchors are breaking the news audibly that Joe Baylor has pleaded guilty in court. Credits appear on the screen and we hear the words "This marks only the fourth time a police officer has been convicted," as the rest of the audio fades away, telling us the conclusion to the story.
CONCLUSION: In my opinion, this is a gut-wrenching, dramatic, sombre film that expresses the emotions of a human very accurately.
By focusing on Joe for the entirety of the movie, we get to see how one person deals with all the chaos happening around him, and how he deals with it.
The camera work and soundtrack are perfect ways the director chose to express what was happening in this film.
The subtle notions like Joe's coughing and the clutching of his inhaler bring the character to life. By the end, I was hoping for a good outcome for Joe.
But, I am glad he pleaded guilty and that he was convicted. Not because I didn't care for his character or thought he deserved it. But because it's a twist. Most movies will see the hero / protagonist get a happy ending. The twist made this film seem more real. That not all good guys get the happy ending.
I also enjoyed the way the director chose to reveal the struggles Henry and Emily faced. We rooted against Henry for the majority of the film, to find out via some mumbling that he didn't commit the crime.
I highly recommend this film to anyone. It's a great dramatic piece that anyone can get hooked on. It's not overdramatic, and the fact that we don't see any of the chaos or any of the other people makes this an interesting watch. The viewer gets to understand what a 911 / 000 / 999 operator's job is like. Hearing the chaos and just having to sit there and listen, or talk to try to diffuse the situation.
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