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| images courtesy Netflix |
The Guilty reunites Oscar-nominated star Jake Gyllenhaal with director Antoine Fuqua. Gyllenhaal starred in the 2015 sports drama Southpaw as heavyweight boxer Billy Hope raising his daughter shortly after suffering a personal tragedy. In the Netflix exclusive, Jake stars as Joe Baylor, a high-strung LAPD officer tasked with responding to emergency calls in a dispatch center as wildfires engulf the streets of California. He’s driven to his breaking point when he’s connected with Emily, a woman who's been held captive played by Riley Keough.
With a script penned by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto, the film is a remake of a 2018 Danish film of the same name which basically covers much of the same ground the original does. The only differences are few and far between and almost break the story in which the protagonist comes to terms with what led to his eventual demotion. Similar in structure to Tom Hardy’s 2013 one-man-show Locke, Gyllenhaal humanizes Baylor with his usual skill and charm.
However, it was after watching the original Danish story where my thoughts on the 2021 rendition started to wane. I still find it ingenious of Pizzolatto to incorporate real-life circumstances into the story but I found myself appreciating the intimate and contained setting in Gustav Mรถller’s world more. As mentioned, the screen stays on Gyllenhaal for the majority of the film and he continues to captivate to the point where minutes passed by without me getting bored.
As revelations are made and time begins to dwindle, emotions begin to run high as Joe begins reaching out to past contacts from his time on the force to ensure Emily is rescued. I could feel it used scenes like this as social commentary on how police officers abuse their authority and the blurred lines that exist between law enforcement and the criminals they apprehend. The nail-biting tension throughout and Joe’s frustrations as plans unravel kept me invested until the closing credits.
One of the few additional departures made between the American and Danish takes on the material includes Joe’s strained relationship with his ex and their daughter. She’s frequently shown on his iPhone’s lock screen serving as a stark reminder of the life he once had. While this peek into Joe’s life wasn’t necessary for the story, it definitely got me to warm up to his character despite his short temper and curt behavior towards his colleagues and other 911 callers. The change in endings does feel a bit Hollywoodized but given how dark the film got, perhaps it was a good call on Fuqua and Pizzolatto to make the change.
--Michael Omoruan