The Phone Call

The wonderful and marvelous Sally Hawkins has accomplished another extraordinary performance, and with the help of an arresting verbal performance by Jim Broadbent. Great directing and writing. A most wonderfully done story by gifted people. So glad I saw this, and its time to track down more Sally Hawkins films.

A dramatic short on life's challenges and meaning where human interaction is what matters the most. In an atmosphere of quiet sadness a help center worker receives a call that would bring out her humanity and make her appreciate life more. Slow going and stereotypical the film nevertheless is worth the view and may leave a lingering impression that'll make one ruminate and brood on life itself.

The Phone Call concerns Heather (Emily Hawkins), a shy, reclusive woman who works as a dispatcher for a crisis hotline. One day, she picks up the phone to hear an elderly man sobbing profusely on the other end. Being the professional that she is, she slowly talks to him and gets him to reveal his current situation. The man states he is "Stanley" (voiced by Jim Broadbent), a man who lost his wife Joan a few years ago and has taken a handful of antidepressants in order to cope with the mental pain. He doesn't want Heather to call an ambulance; he has made up his mind about ending his life and is content with his decision. He just wants companionship before he fades away.

This is a somber short film that sneaks up on you with the way Stanley's undying love for his wife comes through, as he tells Heather stories and details about his wife, along with being so content about his extreme decision. Hawkins plays her character wonderfully, exuding shyness and fright, despite keeping her professionalism throughout the entire ordeal, in a profoundly affecting manner. Broadbent, though he is no more than a voice throughout the short, also provides one with spine-tingling urgency, as his voice captivates, giving off each emotion and vocal-quiver with a great deal of sincerity and believability. Directed Mat Kirkby's camera shoots all the right things, in addition, from close-ups on Heather's small, reserved movements or her notes on Stanley, filling the environment with simultaneously unsettling and tranquil vibes.

The Phone Call instantly reminds me of Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, a short documentary which, like The Phone Call, won an Oscar for its respective category. That film showed the daily routines of several dispatchers at a crisis hotline, helping numerous souls, in this case, veterans, who were on the teetering edge of suicide and either needed companionship or some sort of guidance. Judging by these two beautifully-made shorts, the relationship dispatchers form with their callers through the means of a telephone is one that we will likely see develop and grow overtime, and if such an idea is carried out with the kind of heartbreaking realism and brutal honesty these two shorts have depicted, I'm all for it.

Starring: Emily Hawkins and Jim Broadbent. Directed by: Mat Kirkby.

Hawkins plays a volunteer helpline counselor who regularly offers a listening ear and emotional support for troubled souls. One day, she gets a call from a lonely old man who ever-so-gradually reveals what's bothering him (Jim Broadbent). As the call goes on, the clock on the wall ticks by, indicating the limited time she may have to avert whatever crisis he's phoned in to report.

As the suspense mounts, the conversation gets increasingly personal, suggesting the possibility that perhaps the Good Samaritan could also use some advice. The ending, while bittersweet, seemed a bit manipulative to me, but Hawkins' performance is worth the watch.

This is a really quite poignant glimpse at just how tough it can be when you are on the end of a phone trying to help someone in the depths of despair. Sally Hawkins is "Heather" who comes to volunteer one evening at a crisis helpline and receives a call from "Stan". The immediately recognisable sound of Jim Broadbent's emotional voice now tells her of his predicament, and pretty swiftly she is not only trying to console and comfort him, but also to try to glean some information about his identity so she can perhaps offer more practical help. She thinks she remembers a call he made before, you see - but he denies that. Hawkins offers a masterly understated performance here, gently feeling her way through a traumatic conversation that she - and we - sense might not end well. It's gently scored and effectively illustrates just how profoundly a sense of loneliness and pointlessness can affect even the most robust of people. It's well worth a watch this.