The Caller

An ostensibly successful man receives a mysterious business call. Lured by the money offered, he accepts the short-term temporary job. He determines it is necessary to disguise his true identity to perform his mission, but in doing so he loses the faith of the caller. The caller cannot clearly explain what it is he hopes for from the arrangement, which jeopardizes the partnership. Apparently, he expects people to read his mind. The audience is tasked with explaining with rationalizing why that is so.

I always think to myself , 'if I can bear to watch a movie 5 times or more then it's not so bad', and this movie was for me extremely watchable but mainly because of the great actors involved, Frank Langella and Elliott Gould. I suppose if it had been made with lesser talent, a contrived story like this would have been hard to take, but it is interesting how the two men come together after 60 plus years, in order for both to seek closure from a destroyed childhood in Nazi occupied France.

It's as mysterious and compelling as any other drama I've seen of this sort. Laura Harring, who plays Langella's lover, is one of the most sensuous actresses around, she's perfect in the part, as enigmatic and subtle as Elliott Gould and Frank Langella.

This film is not about corporate scandal, suspense or mystery; all those elements were simply the vehicle to get to the point: Death & how one deals with inevitable death. The story is extremely contrived and overly elaborate, which became dull and frustrating because every single character, item or action is just a device to metaphor.

At the end, the plot really isn't important nor the characters because the film intentionally presents every one as a wooden puppet without the slightest emotion or expression (The golden rule of filming art: do not smile, remain expressionless, and add bleak).

It ends as you expect it to: The same death metaphor and the same dreadful indictment against the capitalistic brutalities in every other film.

I have watched the film life of Frank Langella beginning with 'The Twelve Chairs' back in the 70s'. His Charismatic ability and dynamic screen force is impressive. This movie calumniates with all the cinematic experience he has accrued over his career. The film is entitled " The Caller." If you are expecting a lot of action, thrills or explosive drama, this is not one of them. Instead, what one sees is the story of an aged Executive who has seen enough corporate destruction to fill his conscience and like most humanitarians, wants to atone for his part. Langella plays Jimmy Stevens an ex-CEO of a multi-Billion dollar corporation which continues to destroy 3rd world countries without remorse. Planting the seeds of failure within the corporation, Stevens knows he will be marked for death. Realizing he has become a target, Jimmy hires private investigator Frank Turlotte (Elliott Gould) to be a witness during his last days. The movie becomes a death watch for a man who has learned in his youth, that death, even when slow in arriving, is death none-the-less and there is nothing to do but wait and reminisce. Touching in its inception, the film is a remarkable heartfelt legacy of humanity realizing its own destruction. This film will no doubt become a milestone for Langella which will culminate in becoming a Classic. ****

This was really quite a good movie, but not necessarily one for "consumers" of movies not accustomed to dialog between characters, or those who expect the meaning to reside primarily in the plot. In this film, the minute details of who is trying to kill the protagonist and exactly why, is purposely left vague.

This is a character study, and examines the fundamental truth, that each of us is isolated in the universal moments of their life, such as death. Simply sharing that moment with someone, confirms the profound meaning of the human connection.

I also appreciate that this film presents mature actors in an way that does not reduce them to stereotype. Other cultures, still portray a broad spectrum of characters in their films, allowing different age groups and generations to interact in meaningful ways. It's refreshing to see this in an American film.

In summing up, I think this movie has more meaning for those more than half-way through their journey in life.