The Edinburgh Film Fest Experience of 'The Caller' (2011)

The Caller (2011), director Matthew Parkhill's latest film, is a full feature version of writer Sergio Casci's short film Rose (1997). It is the story of a recently divorced woman, portrayed by Twilight's Rachelle Lefevre, and her struggle with a persistent caller. What begins as a seemingly innocent wrong number leads to a persistent and potentially dangerous stalking scenario where we learn, as the tagline so clearly puts it, "some calls are best left unanswered".

The first thing to pop out at the viewer in the movie is the amazing soundtrack. So much character and emotion is added to the film simply through the use of sound. Whether it be a tense, steady beat creating tension in the middle of the night or the perfectly selected song to make a transition between scenes, the score is simply outstanding. And one cannot mention the soundtrack without taking note of its importance in making the phone itself a character in the film. The pitch and volume of the phone's ring changes throughout the movie, making the phone a character and a threat in itself.

The next, almost equally impressive aspect of The Caller is the incredible editing. The use of transitions and focus in particular are spectacular. The seamless passage of time through editing keeps the film moving while placing focus and attention on key scenes. Even in opening exposition scenes that do not involve much tension, the viewer is kept alert and on edge through the combination of sound and editing.

While the film begins with Mary's (Lefevre) struggle with her abusive ex-husband (Ed Quinn), the mysterious calls soon take over her life as she realizes that leaving the calls unanswered is no longer an option. This mysterious caller, Rose (Lorna Raver), repeatedly calls Mary, insisting that she has the right number. After some investigation, tests and disbelief, Mary realizes that Rose is calling from the past. Over time, Mary tries to focus on her new life and even starts dating again. However, her budding romance with math teacher John Guidi (portrayed by True Blood's Stephen Moyer) upsets more than her violent ex-husband. Her neglected caller takes a turn for the worst and Mary finds her whole world turning into a heart-pumping, supernatural nightmare.

Now, before pinning this movie down as a cheap impression of Frequency or The Lakehouse, bear in mind that this film is based on a short film written long before either movie was released. The Caller also provides a more intense mystery/thriller feel than Frequency and certainly less hopeless romanticism as seen in The Lakehouse.

However, there are very few flawless movies in this world and so there must be some critiques for The Caller. While, overall, the characters and the relationship between Mary and John are believable, the initial impression of John is a harsh, if not somewhat sexist one. This makes it challenging to like him for a while, but midway through the film his actions seem to prove opposite the first impression. There is also a key moment in their relationship where there is a huge shift from extreme tension and angst to extraordinary love and trust in a matter of seconds, which causes some believability issues. But the largest problem with the film is the balance between the main plot and the subplot. While the subplot of the ex-husband clearly takes a back seat to the threatening caller from the past, it sometimes feels that the abusive ex-husband is forgotten only to randomly reappear again later. The two plots come together nicely in the end, but there are certainly times in the film when one needs to remind themselves that Mary has other huge problems to be dealt with in her life that may be causing her additional worries and stress.

This hub is entitled "The Edinburgh Film Fest Experience" because the atmosphere of the Edinburgh International Film Festival should be taken into account when reading this review. The world premiere of The Caller took place during the film festival at the Cameo cinema, where director Matthew Parkhill, writer Sergio Casci, and editor Gabriel Coss attended and followed the film showing with a Q&A session. It was an exciting experience from watching the thrilling movie in such a huge, stunning theater to the interesting facts and trivia learned through the Q&A session. Any qualms or doubts one might have had with the film could be addressed directly with either the writer, director or editor who were all very kind and generous in their responses. The Caller was a well-thought-out film that had a few problems, but none that couldn't be addressed and explained to the viewer. Once learning that the film was made on a low budget and based on a long-developed screenplay, one begins to view the film in another way. There is always something to be said for the excitement of the cinema, but that in combination with a world premiere at the world's oldest continually running film festival and the filmmakers ready to answer questions makes any movie experience more amazing. Based on their interaction during the Q&A, the three men involved seem like a sincerely down-to-earth, funny, and somewhat dark group that really enjoyed working on the film together. From speaking with Casci after the Q&A, one got the impression that he was a hard-working, well-educated and enthusiastic man who loves doing what he does. He was very encouraging and warm to those pursuing a similar field and welcomed individuals who wished to speak with him further.

All in all, The Caller is a great thriller that certainly keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. It is a well-thought-out film somewhat reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe that keeps the viewer thinking and excited.