👍70%

2021 Movies List- Click HERE

The Guilty is a thrilling movie. Like I’d assume most would I don’t like when Hollywood remakes a foreign language film especially one that only came out three years ago and already had high acclaim. While I haven’t seen the original yet and I just learned of it’s existence a couple of months ago when I first noticed this film’s release it’s obviously unnecessary to even someone who doesn’t have any attachments towards the first to realize remaking a perfectly fine film for the sole purpose of removing the subtitles and turning into American cinema via the biggest streaming service is not okay. Despite of how unnecessary this film is and that it’ll probably be remembered for that reputation amongst the film community that couldn’t stop me from loving quite a few aspects of it. This film successfully achieves what it’s trying to achieve and it’s no secret that the one and only Jake Gyllenhaal is mainly the reason why the film works as well as it does. He carries every single part of this film with so much skill and in the process solidifies it as a device for showcasing his incredible acting abilities. 

The plot is good it’s a thrilling and entertaining story. The story is essentially this tunnel of self reflection and frustration for this unstable man we increasingly feel sympathetic towards. I knew going into this film that the story would thrilling but I didn’t expect it to also be so emotional. By the end of the story it’s hard not to feel a sudden sense of realization about how sad the prior events you just experienced are. All of the exposition, themes, and conflicts stem from phone calls that all take place in a dark room which makes for an interesting, stage play-esque narrative. It’s engaging to see this man’s urge to help this family become a reflection of wanting to fix himself, showing his thought process of thinking saving these people can save himself. There is a few noticeable flaws with the story the biggest ones a couple of the plot points feel repetitive as the story rolls on and some of the themes could have been executed better during the second act. The pacing is great since the runtime is short and the story is intense there isn’t many slow or boring moments.

 The acting is fantastic Jake Gyllenhaal gives a fantastic performance. He channels the essence of this broken character and makes the audience attach to this character and understand how he’s feeling. Whether it’s the moments where he showcases moments of sudden anger or these times of pure emotion he gives such a memorable performance. Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, Christina Vidal, Eli Goree, and Ethan Hawke give pretty good supporting performances as well. The direction is good from Antoine Fuqua, he’s a director known for making intense film and bringing out the best in his leading actors and while he may not exceed in all the other aspects of the film he does well in his signature feats. The script is great it’s a tensely centered and attentive script that has many memorable pieces of dialogue. The cinematography is good this film has quite a few shots that notably capture the tension in the room. The ending is a bittersweet ending that leaves you to reflect on what you just watched. Overall The Guilty is a well made film that’s mainly worthwhile because of Jake Gyllenhaal’s immersive performance in which the whole film revolves around. 

🔙The Many Saints of Newark 
🔜The Silence of the Lambs♻️