What would you do with the last two weeks of your life? Perhaps more importantly, what would you do to free your life of fear? These are the questions Jimmy Stevens faces as he nears his end, and the actions he takes and the events from his history which prompt them make for a fascinating movie.
As the Senior Vice President for the E.N. Corporation, Jimmy has born witness and taken a part in the exploitation of third-world countries, sometimes at the expense of peoples lives. Unable to bear the weight of his guilt anymore, Jimmy sends an email to various government agencies of a clandestine burial at one of the corporations Latin American sites along with financial records outlining E.N.s criminal dealings. In doing so, Jimmy effectively signs his own death warrant, but retains enough clout to postpone his assassination for two weeks in order to put his affairs in order.
In comes Frank Turlotte, a private detective and avid bird watcher. An anonymous client called only “John Doe” hires Turlotte to watch Jimmys every move. He gives no explanation of what hes looking for, or why he wants Jimmy followed, but because he pays five times Turlottes normal fee, the detective finds it difficult to refuse. Little does he know that John Doe is actually Jimmy Stevens.
During these final two weeks, Jimmy comes back more and more to an experience he had as a child escaping France from the Nazi occupation. The flashbacks along with Jimmys actions and interactions with Turlotte slowly give clues to the inner workings of Jimmys complicated life and help us understand his almost Zen acceptance of his own death.
Although the previews presented this as a taught, cat-and-mouse thriller, in actuality this is a slow, deliberately paced film focusing on the last two weeks of Jimmys life. The pacing in and of itself is excellent, but the film really succeeds with the acting by Frank Langella and Elliott Gould. They turn in subtle, understated, and powerful performances and serve as the backbone of the movie. As good as the other aspects of the movie are, without those two this film would fall apart.
The mystery of who Jimmy is and why he hired Turlotte to watch him works very well, and I’m happy to say that the pay off is intelligent, well thought-out, and satisfying. In all, this is a very well put-together movie where all of the elements come together to make a satisfying, subtle experience, which anymore seems to be a rarity in filmmaking.
The movie was presented in Anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio with the sound in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. There were no problems with either the sound or video quality.
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:00) – Good trailer, but it makes the pacing of the movie seem much faster than it actually is. I could see some people being disappointed with the expectation it sets up.
Production Stills Photo Gallery
This is a very well-plotted, subtly-paced drama with some great performances by Langella and Gould. While nothing about it necessarily wowed me, I really enjoyed it and think it perfect for those looking for a subtle, intelligent movie. Recommended.
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Chapeau Films presents The Caller. Directed by Richard Ledes. Starring Frank Langella, Elliott Gould, Laura Harring, Helen Stenborg, Anabel Sosa, and Edoardo Ballerini. Written by Alain Didier-Weill and Richard Ledes. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: April 14, 2009. Available at Amazon.
