MOVIE REVIEW: THE CALLING

3/5

Hazel is a middle aged little town detective who loves with her mother, drinks too much and having trouble dealing with a loss of her baby many years ago. When a particularly gruesome murder happens with one of the elderly town residents she is hot on a trail of a man who she believes to be a serial killer. What is the culprit's motivation? And what is the connection between the victims who are all of a different ethnicity and age? Hazel, who had little direction in her own life, will have to face an unlikely killer, who has more faith in the goodness and order of the world she had ever had?

The calling is a very slow movie, and this is probably it's biggest flaw. It has an interesting premise, some unusual twists and turns and a colourful heroine - Susan Sarandon had done a great job. Unfortunately, in many ways, it looks like a pilot for a TV show, and TV shows being of such a great quality these days it simply cannot compete. The calling is based on a book and it is easy to see because the story is well structured, but what will work in a book may not transpire so well on screen. The menacing atmosphere of a sleepy town that harbours secrets here seems a little boring. The other fault of the movie may be the identity of the killer, which is revealed almost straight away. But the story is more interested in the killer's motives and his personality, than who actually did it, and if you accept it quickly you will enjoy the rest.

The calling is not the worst thriller around and Susan Sarandon's performance is very entertaining. When the final credits will roll you will not be disappointed... If you last until then.