The Call (2020)
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The Call Movie Review
The Call is a 2020 South Korean science fiction thriller film directed by Lee Chung-hyun and starring Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo. It is a frenetic, but very intriguing movie.
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“You’re going to die tonight“
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It is about two women from different times who connect through a phone call which interchanges their fates. This is a very cool high-concept movie that features a sort of a time travel storyline, but one that was never done quite like this before. Simply having two girls connect by phone but twenty years apart produced many fascinating situations.
I loved the first act. I liked the rest of the movie quite a bit too, but the whole direction toward the full-on thriller felt a bit forced, having in mind that Young-sook became a serial killer in a very abrupt manner. There are some plot holes like that throughout the film, but for the most part the movie is not only riveting to watch, but also genuinely thrilling. It also makes use of its SF premise superbly with some cool imagery and exciting plot twists.
Both of the actresses were terrific here and the relationship between the two women is very well established and quite complicated. The finale was also deeply moving and emotionally rewarding. Simply seeing these two women try to outsmart one another was very interesting and refreshing in this usually heavily male-populated genre.
The Call features many twists and most of them worked, but simply the connections between the two and one having two save her family from the other in the past was truly fascinating. It explores how the past can influence the future and whether or not destiny is avoidable. The science fiction elements were the most interesting ones to me as this genre enthusiast, but I also found the thriller stuff strong, albeit overly violent in certain patches and too unhinged.
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The movie is very well filmed and the effects are terrific. The score is also good and the dialogue is excellent throughout. The script had some problems in that chaotic second act and the pacing is too frenetic, but most of the movie was very well written and surprisingly emotional.
