The Guilty: Prime~ Non-Spoiler Review

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🇩🇰 The Guilty 🇩🇰

THE GUILTY aka Den skyldige (2018) is a Danish crime, drama, thriller. Netflix U.K., (until 1st Dec 2020) Prime Video UK £1.99 to buy, Hulu USA 1 hr 25 mins. 15 Cert U.K. Available with English closed captioning. No dubbing.

Cast:

Jakob Cedergren as Asger Holm

Jessica Dinnage as Iben (voice)

Omar Shargawi as Rashid (voice)

Johan Olsen as Michael (voice)

Jacob Lohmann as Bo (voice)

Katinka Evers-Jahnsen as Mathilde (voice)

Jeanette Lindbæk as Vagtleder Nordsjælland (voice)

Simon Benneberg as Junkie (voice)

Laura Bro as Journalist (voice)

Morten Thunbo as Alarmoperator #1

Crew:

Director: Gustav Möller

Cinematographer: Jasper J. Spanning

Writer: Gustav Möller & Emil Nygaard Albertsen

Editor: Carla Luffe Heintzelmann

Sound: Oskar Skriver & Nordisk Film/SPRING

Premise:

“A police officer assigned alarm dispatch duty enters a race against time when he answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman.”

Review:

What can I say? The Guilty is a fantastic film. Set within just two rooms in a call answering centre you get to watch Asger (Cedergren) receive and respond to calls and very little else. This lack of change of location could be a weakness but it is, in fact, very much the strength of this film. For those who have seen Locke starring Tom Hardy, this is similar in this respect.

Initially we see Asger’s reactions to routine calls, some of which are ethically dubious, to say the least. We learn from limited dialogue that he has some kind of issue hanging over his head as a police officer. It is when he receives the call from a kidnap victim that everything changes.

The Guilty rests very heavily upon the shoulders of Jakob Cedergren, and what a talent he is! The use of camera to capture his expressions and reactions is superb. In this movie voice actors and sound department also play an immense part in creating a vision of what is happening off-screen. You can feel the motivations, the locations and it loses nothing for not seeing them. Sometimes things in the mind’s eye are even more affecting. This movie is a very emotionally affecting watch.

This is a VERY intense movie, which kept me fully invested from start to finish. Usually films and TV shows aim at “show don’t tell” but this is the complete opposite. The exception is the wide range of reactions of Asger himself and just occasionally those around him. The final scene of him walking towards the door and the outside world is haunting.

Highly recommended without hesitation.

Awards:

The Guilty has won 36 awards and been nominated for another 39! Wins include:

Bodil 2019 ~ Best Actor, Jakob Cedergren; Blockbuster Talent Award, Gustav Möller

Danish Film Awards (Robert) ~ Best Film; Best Actor Jakob Cedergren; Best Editing; Best Sound; Best Director, Gustav Möller; Best Original Screenplay; Best Supporting Actress, Jessica Dinnage; Best Cinematography;

National Board of Review, USA ~ 2018 Best Film by an Emerging Director

Sundance Film Festival 2018 ~ Audience Winner World Cinema Dramatic

Zurich Film Festival 2018 ~ Critic’s Choice Award

Trailer: