Red Call

I approached this film with some dubiousness. A low budget film based on a stage play could've been one step off a live screening of a theatre performance. Red Call, I am pleased to say, avoids this but keeps a feeling of danger about it, like something could blow up at any minute.

The opening sequence, a colourful, somewhat indeterminable melees of images pertaining to an act of terror, sets out the film's stall - this is cinema, not theatre - and the kind that will require some interpretation from the audience.

The story follows the questioning of Samaritan councelor Fran, who took a call from a terrorist committing suicide whilst on the line (Red Call is the term for this). But what should be a routine line of enquiry has the dark edge of an interrogation that leaves you unsure whether it's the police or our main protagonist with something to hide.

As the plot unfolds, so do the layers of this story and the result is a taut, smart thriller with a wistful, poetic edge.

In less delicate hands this film could've been discardable or melodramatic. Steve Gough took a huge risk making something as highly sensitive and resonant as Red Call on such a low budget, but the compelling performances, writing and direction prove to be all the budget required.

Add it to your watch list!