The Guilty (2021)
Movie · 2021 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 29m · R · English
Curator score: 2.2/10 (714.5K ratings)
Tagline: Listen carefully.
A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 2.2/10
- IMDb: 6.3/10
- Letterboxd: 2.94/5
- Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
- Metacritic: 63
- TMDB: 6.4/10
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Production: Nine Stories Productions, Bold Films, Fuqua Films, Amet Entertainment, Endeavor Content, Capstone Pictures
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Paul Dano, Eli Goree, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, David Castañeda, Adrian Martinez, Christiana Montoya, Gillian Zinser, Aileen Burdock, Bill Burr, Beau Knapp, Edi Patterson, Marlene Forte, Maurice Webster, Bret Eric Porter, Sal Lucio
Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict: A tense, tightly contained thriller with a strong central performance and a clever premise, but it leans heavily on contrivance and emotional manipulation. It works best as a pressure-cooker exercise in suspense rather than a fully satisfying crime drama.
Best for: Viewers who like single-location thrillers; Fans of performance-driven suspense; People who enjoy real-time, phone-call-based tension; Audiences looking for a compact, high-concept crime drama
Skip if: You want a nuanced procedural with broad perspective; You are sensitive to implausible plot turns; You dislike movies that rely on one character carrying most of the runtime; You prefer subtle, low-key thrillers over heightened melodrama
Overview: The Guilty is built like a stress test: one room, one voice, one escalating emergency. That stripped-down setup gives the film immediate tension, and Jake Gyllenhaal does a lot of the heavy lifting, keeping the story alive even when the script starts pushing hard for twists and emotional turns.
Worth noting: What makes it watchable is the discipline of the premise. The movie understands how to turn phone calls, pauses, and incomplete information into suspense. It also has a strong sense of moral unease, with the protagonist’s instability becoming part of the drama rather than just background detail.
Bottom line: Still, the film’s intensity comes with a cost. Some of its developments feel engineered to maximize panic rather than emerge naturally, and the emotional beats can feel a little blunt. If you’re in the mood for a compact thriller with a strong central performance, it delivers; if you want something more grounded and less manipulative, it may leave you cold.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- bre: just finished my 1 hour and 30 minute phone call with jake gyllenhaal and it was so arousing
- Hungkat: Maybe the guilty are the ones who never bothered to learn to read subtitles.
- David Chen: Men will literally act grossly unprofessional in the furtherance of solving a potential crime that's well outside their purview instead of going to therapy
- sarah: jake gyllenhaal saying “good girl” like if you agree
- alex: i'm convinced jake gyllenhaal only accepts roles where his character gets to aggressively yell at people and lose his mind
Recommended similar titles:
- Phone Booth (2003 · Thriller, Crime · 1h 21m · R · Curator 3.6/10 (479.3K ratings))
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- Locke (2014 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 25m · R · Curator 6.8/10 (337.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads)
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- The Conversation (1974 · Crime, Drama, Mystery · 1h 54m · PG · Curator 9.1/10 (386.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads)
For viewers drawn to paranoia, surveillance, and the psychological toll of trying to piece together a crisis.
- The Guilty (2018 · Thriller, Drama, Crime · 1h 25m · R · Curator 9.2/10 (70.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV)
The Danish original offers a sharper, more austere version of the same premise with a different emotional texture.
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 1h 57m · R · Curator 9.0/10 (122.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, fuboTV, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads)
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- Training Day (2001 · Action, Crime, Drama · 2h 2m · R · Curator 7.9/10 (1M ratings))
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- Nightcrawler (2014 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 1h 58m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (2.3M ratings))
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- Prisoners (2013 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 2h 33m · R · Curator 9.1/10 (2.9M ratings) · Where to watch: FilmBox+)
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- Zodiac (2007 · Crime, Mystery, Thriller · 2h 37m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (2.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential)
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- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 · Crime, Thriller, Comedy · 1h 45m · R · Curator 8.8/10 (82.9K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo)
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- Sicario (2015 · Action, Crime, Thriller · 2h 2m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (1.5M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu)
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Topics: thriller, drama, contained setting, real-time tension, phone-call suspense, psychological drama, moral ambiguity, crime crisis, emotional breakdown, procedural
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/the-guilty/567748
The Guilty (2021)
Movie · 2021 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 29m · R · English
Curator score: 2.2/10 (714.5K ratings)
Listen carefully.
Overview A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.2/10
IMDb: 6.3/10
Letterboxd: 2.94/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
Metacritic: 63
TMDB: 6.4/10
Production Nine Stories Productions, Bold Films, Fuqua Films, Amet Entertainment, Endeavor Content, Capstone Pictures
Cast Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Paul Dano, Eli Goree, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, David Castañeda, Adrian Martinez, Christiana Montoya, Gillian Zinser, Aileen Burdock, Bill Burr, Beau Knapp, Edi Patterson, Marlene Forte, Maurice Webster, Bret Eric Porter, Sal Lucio
Where to watch Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A tense, tightly contained thriller with a strong central performance and a clever premise, but it leans heavily on contrivance and emotional manipulation. It works best as a pressure-cooker exercise in suspense rather than a fully satisfying crime drama.
Best for
Viewers who like single-location thrillers
Fans of performance-driven suspense
People who enjoy real-time, phone-call-based tension
Audiences looking for a compact, high-concept crime drama
Skip if
You want a nuanced procedural with broad perspective
You are sensitive to implausible plot turns
You dislike movies that rely on one character carrying most of the runtime
You prefer subtle, low-key thrillers over heightened melodrama
Overview
The Guilty is built like a stress test: one room, one voice, one escalating emergency. That stripped-down setup gives the film immediate tension, and Jake Gyllenhaal does a lot of the heavy lifting, keeping the story alive even when the script starts pushing hard for twists and emotional turns.
Worth noting
What makes it watchable is the discipline of the premise. The movie understands how to turn phone calls, pauses, and incomplete information into suspense. It also has a strong sense of moral unease, with the protagonist’s instability becoming part of the drama rather than just background detail.
Bottom line
Still, the film’s intensity comes with a cost. Some of its developments feel engineered to maximize panic rather than emerge naturally, and the emotional beats can feel a little blunt. If you’re in the mood for a compact thriller with a strong central performance, it delivers; if you want something more grounded and less manipulative, it may leave you cold.
Top Letterboxd reviews
bre (3★) · 5693 likes
just finished my 1 hour and 30 minute phone call with jake gyllenhaal and it was so arousing
Hungkat (2.5★) · 5171 likes
Maybe the guilty are the ones who never bothered to learn to read subtitles.
David Chen (2.5★) · 4708 likes
Men will literally act grossly unprofessional in the furtherance of solving a potential crime that's well outside their purview instead of going to therapy
sarah (3★) · 4694 likes
jake gyllenhaal saying “good girl” like if you agree
alex (2.5★) · 3932 likes
i'm convinced jake gyllenhaal only accepts roles where his character gets to aggressively yell at people and lose his mind
Recommended similar titles
2003 · Thriller, Crime · 1h 21m · R · Curator 3.6/10 (479.3K ratings)
A lean, high-pressure thriller that turns a single call into escalating moral and physical danger.
2014 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 25m · R · Curator 6.8/10 (337.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
A performance-driven real-time drama built almost entirely from phone conversations and private collapse.
1974 · Crime, Drama, Mystery · 1h 54m · PG · Curator 9.1/10 (386.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
For viewers drawn to paranoia, surveillance, and the psychological toll of trying to piece together a crisis.
2018 · Thriller, Drama, Crime · 1h 25m · R · Curator 9.2/10 (70.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV
The Danish original offers a sharper, more austere version of the same premise with a different emotional texture.
2007 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 1h 57m · R · Curator 9.0/10 (122.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, fuboTV, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A tense crime spiral about bad decisions, guilt, and the way panic destroys judgment.
2001 · Action, Crime, Drama · 2h 2m · R · Curator 7.9/10 (1M ratings)
Another intense, morally compromised law-enforcement story with a volatile central performance.
2014 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 1h 58m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (2.3M ratings)
Shares the same interest in damaged ambition, ethical rot, and a protagonist who makes everything worse.
2013 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 2h 33m · R · Curator 9.1/10 (2.9M ratings) · Where to watch: FilmBox+
A grim, suspenseful kidnapping drama that balances procedural pressure with emotional desperation.
2007 · Crime, Mystery, Thriller · 2h 37m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (2.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
For viewers who like methodical investigation, obsession, and the slow burn of unresolved dread.
1974 · Crime, Thriller, Comedy · 1h 45m · R · Curator 8.8/10 (82.9K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo
A classic crisis thriller that thrives on communication, logistics, and escalating pressure.
2015 · Action, Crime, Thriller · 2h 2m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (1.5M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu
A tense, morally murky crime thriller where institutional systems feel dangerous and unstable.
2007 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 2h · R · Curator 7.7/10 (319K ratings)
A tightly wound drama about professional crisis, ethical compromise, and mounting pressure.
Topics
thriller, drama, contained setting, real-time tension, phone-call suspense, psychological drama, moral ambiguity, crime crisis, emotional breakdown, procedural
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