Stars: Victoria Lucie, Royce Pierreson, Harriet Walter, Joanne Rogers, Thomas Bliss, Sally Geake, Richard Heap, Chris Donnelly | Written and Directed by Oliver Pearn
For his feature debut, writer/director Oliver Pearn crafts a story set in 1964 on Aldernay (one of the Channel Islands). Agnes (Victoria Lucie) works as a telephone operator to connect the whole island through her switchboard, a role she considers leaving with her wedding day moving ever closer. Her typical day is shaken by a distressing call from a woman asking for help, which leaves Agnes intent on helping however possible.
While On The Line is confined to a single room, the story unfolds through phone calls to have conversations audibly convey what is happening. Pearn heightens the tension to terrifically make it an engrossing watch, particularly when aided by a compelling lead performance. Lucie effectively captures Agnes’ investment in this situation, as she tries proactively helping through investigations from her workstation,...
For his feature debut, writer/director Oliver Pearn crafts a story set in 1964 on Aldernay (one of the Channel Islands). Agnes (Victoria Lucie) works as a telephone operator to connect the whole island through her switchboard, a role she considers leaving with her wedding day moving ever closer. Her typical day is shaken by a distressing call from a woman asking for help, which leaves Agnes intent on helping however possible.
While On The Line is confined to a single room, the story unfolds through phone calls to have conversations audibly convey what is happening. Pearn heightens the tension to terrifically make it an engrossing watch, particularly when aided by a compelling lead performance. Lucie effectively captures Agnes’ investment in this situation, as she tries proactively helping through investigations from her workstation,...
- 1/22/2024
- by James Rodrigues
- Nerdly
‘Exciting thriller’ – Film Threat
Stay On The Line for this enthralling, expertly crafted new thriller, which sees a telephone operator get in way over her head as she does all that she can to help a caller in need. Oliver Pearn makes his directorial debut in this impressive film that has a cast of Dame Harriet Walter Dbe (The Young Victoria, Sense and Sensibility, The Last Duel, Succession) and Royce Pierreson, whose familiar voices have a powerful impact. The film is out now on Digital platforms in the UK courtesy of Miracle Media.
It’s 1964 and 24-year-old switchboard operator Agnes (Victoria Lucie – The Devil’s Machine) passes time listening to phone conversations as she connects peoples’ calls in the Channel Islands. However, things take an unexpected turn when she receives a panicked call from Shirley (Harriet Walter), an old woman suffering from dementia who suggests that she’s been kidnapped.
Stay On The Line for this enthralling, expertly crafted new thriller, which sees a telephone operator get in way over her head as she does all that she can to help a caller in need. Oliver Pearn makes his directorial debut in this impressive film that has a cast of Dame Harriet Walter Dbe (The Young Victoria, Sense and Sensibility, The Last Duel, Succession) and Royce Pierreson, whose familiar voices have a powerful impact. The film is out now on Digital platforms in the UK courtesy of Miracle Media.
It’s 1964 and 24-year-old switchboard operator Agnes (Victoria Lucie – The Devil’s Machine) passes time listening to phone conversations as she connects peoples’ calls in the Channel Islands. However, things take an unexpected turn when she receives a panicked call from Shirley (Harriet Walter), an old woman suffering from dementia who suggests that she’s been kidnapped.
- 1/22/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Victoria Lucie is impressive as the only visible actor, connecting calls on the island of Alderney and piecing together a propulsive 60s-set drama
Here is a claustrophobic thriller that unfolds entirely inside a small telephone exchange on the island of Alderney in the early 1960s; it features just one actor visible throughout, with other characters only heard through the telephone lines. Writer-director-producer Oliver Pearn, making his feature debut here after working as an assistant director and the like, is laying down a crisp white calling card by showing off how economically he can tell a story. While this sometimes feels less like cinema and more like a stage piece or even a radio play, the end result is reasonably engaging and propulsive.
Pearn gets a crucial assist from lead Victoria Lucie who plays Agnes, an operator who spends her days inside a hut working the complex machinery of the exchange...
Here is a claustrophobic thriller that unfolds entirely inside a small telephone exchange on the island of Alderney in the early 1960s; it features just one actor visible throughout, with other characters only heard through the telephone lines. Writer-director-producer Oliver Pearn, making his feature debut here after working as an assistant director and the like, is laying down a crisp white calling card by showing off how economically he can tell a story. While this sometimes feels less like cinema and more like a stage piece or even a radio play, the end result is reasonably engaging and propulsive.
Pearn gets a crucial assist from lead Victoria Lucie who plays Agnes, an operator who spends her days inside a hut working the complex machinery of the exchange...
- 1/16/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Oliver Pearn’s feature directorial debut “On the Line” has been snapped up for U.K. and U.S. distribution by Miracle Media Investments.
Set in Alderney, U.K. in 1964, the film follows a telephone operator, Agnes, who ends up being the pivotal piece of a drama unfurling which puts professional integrity and relationships to the test. She finds herself in a deadly standoff and with time running out and the fate of a victim hanging in the balance Agnes must use her ingenuity and courage to navigate a web of lies.
The cast includes Victoria Lucie (“The Devil’s Machine”), Harriet Walter, and Royce Pierreson (“The Witcher”).
“The profession of the switchboard operator, a vital link connecting individuals, is now consigned to history’s archives. Today, the rise of artificial intelligence is transforming various industries and professions. Here, in 1964 against a backdrop of societal change – a new international phone line...
Set in Alderney, U.K. in 1964, the film follows a telephone operator, Agnes, who ends up being the pivotal piece of a drama unfurling which puts professional integrity and relationships to the test. She finds herself in a deadly standoff and with time running out and the fate of a victim hanging in the balance Agnes must use her ingenuity and courage to navigate a web of lies.
The cast includes Victoria Lucie (“The Devil’s Machine”), Harriet Walter, and Royce Pierreson (“The Witcher”).
“The profession of the switchboard operator, a vital link connecting individuals, is now consigned to history’s archives. Today, the rise of artificial intelligence is transforming various industries and professions. Here, in 1964 against a backdrop of societal change – a new international phone line...
- 9/22/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Jamie Scott Gordon, Alexandra Nicole Hulme star in horror.
Hex Studios, the Scotland-based horror studio that launched in 2017, has wrapped filming on supernatural horror feature Automata.
The company’s latest production is from writer-director duo Lawrie Brewster and Sarah Daly. It centres on a historian who is called upon to authenticate a legendary clockwork doll which is discovered in the basement of a Scottish mansion. As he investigates the item’s history, the malevolent forces surrounding it are awakened.
The film stars Hex regulars Jamie Scott Gordon (The Black Gloves) and Alexandra Nicole Hulme (Girls) alongside Erich Redman (The Danish Girl...
Hex Studios, the Scotland-based horror studio that launched in 2017, has wrapped filming on supernatural horror feature Automata.
The company’s latest production is from writer-director duo Lawrie Brewster and Sarah Daly. It centres on a historian who is called upon to authenticate a legendary clockwork doll which is discovered in the basement of a Scottish mansion. As he investigates the item’s history, the malevolent forces surrounding it are awakened.
The film stars Hex regulars Jamie Scott Gordon (The Black Gloves) and Alexandra Nicole Hulme (Girls) alongside Erich Redman (The Danish Girl...
- 4/25/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
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