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It’s nearly a decade old, but The Call is getting an impressive second wind. After hitting Netflix last week on April 10, the R-rated 2013 psychological crime-thriller film quickly climbed to the platform’s Top 10 most-watched titles in the United States.
Now, people are getting curious about The Call (not to be confused with the 2020 South Korean thriller of the same name) and what to know what it’s all about, who’s in it, and if it’s based on a true story. Keep on reading to find out.
What is The Call about?
Directed by Brad Anderson and written by Richard D’Ovidio, The Call follows Jordan Turner (Halle Berry), a longtime operator for LAPD 9-1-1 . She is used to dealing with difficult situations and trying to save lives on a daily basis, but still finds herself utterly devastated when she is unable to assist 15 year-old Leah Templeton (Evie Thompson), who was murdered by a home intruder after Jordan’s call back to the teen gives away the girl’s intruder to the man who had broken in.
Feeling broken down by and partially responsible for this tragedy, Jordan decides to give up the job, leaving behind field calls in favor of training others to become capable 9-1-1 operators, themselves. But when rookie operator Brooke (Jenna Lamia) is unable to handle an intense, high-pressure call from kidnapped teen Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin), Jordan is forced to take charge, thus pulling the seasoned vet in on the most high-stakes and difficult rescue attempt of her career in order to save Casey’s life.
The Call also stars Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, Michael Imperioli, David Otunga, and Justina Machado.
Is The Call based on a true story?
The Call is not, in fact, based on a true story. The project was originally conceptualized as a television series before D’Ovidio combined forces with his wife, Nicole D’Ovidio and Jon Bokenkamp to rewrite it as a feature film.
While the film was perhaps inspired by real emergency calls to 9-1-1 and the experiences of those working in emergency call centers, there seems to be no one story or real-life figure on which The Call is directly based.
