Subversion is not easy either. In the search for self-respect and the usually hidden purpose of further action, many reach for a subversive expression, but often completely unnecessarily and mostly miserably miss the self-set target. Because when all those Gintergrass layers of the metaphorical arch are exposed, subversion is and must be an act of rebellion, and rebellion that is not the ultimate goal in itself must still be loud enough and conspicuous enough. Otherwise, all these discreet, wobbly attempts at undermining are reminiscent of those daredevils who dig a hole and then, just before burying it, exclaim "whoa!" against authority and the prevailing state of affairs. However, there is hope for subversion as well, provided it enters into the most sincere alliance with what is often taken for granted: the craft.
photo: blitz film...
FROM SPAIN TO HOLLYWOOD
Za Call is primarily (and still is) credited to actress Olivia Wilde (Tron: Heritage, Doctor House, vinyl, Cowboys and aliens), which after the previous two directors (Nerds i Do not worry, dear), willingly found on very slippery ground. Namely, she accepted the Americanization (therefore, necessarily the Hollywoodization) of only a few years old and very successful Spanish chamber romantic comedy. People from above. To make the challenge even more difficult, that Iberian hit was created as a script that was written during the corona, which means that it took into account not a few filming restrictions, so it first came to life in Spain as a popular theater piece. Fortunately (according to Olivia Wilde and her team), there was also a major mitigating circumstance - in its essence, romantic comedy is inherently universal, with cultural relativities and conditionalities reduced and kept at the level of useful decoration, and Cesc Guy, the author of both the play and the latter Spanish film, has proven himself to be a skilled player on those fields. Call had, to a certain extent, a tactical advantage over American works of that profile. There is the fact that (at least the more informed and "observed") moviegoers, primarily thanks to Woody Allen's multi-decade self-immolation, are used to the concept of movie chat rooms, which in the best editions, among other things, leave the impression of a cinematic and very playful theater, while in the worst editions they instantly resemble logorheic transcripts from sessions or at least radio chat rooms made by other means. Call it rests on an excellent text which, therefore, has already gone through the pains of being transformed into a filmic language and medium, and if you add to that the directorial skill of Olivia Wilde (which she showed in the previous two films), the final impression may not be a surprise. Quite simply, this is definitely one of the best repertoire films in the first half of the current year. In a short time after the world premiere at the famous "Sundance" festival, all this was confirmed. Call in its first cinema weekend, although it was shown on only 28 screens in the entire territory and the USA, entered the official top 10 most watched, with by far the highest average earnings per screen.
PLAYING OUT THE CHAMBER ATMOSPHERE
Call leaves a strong impression of a full-blooded repertory hit that easily communicates with viewers with emphatically mainstream appetites, as well as with those with more subtle tastes and, therefore, more demanding viewing needs. Olivia Wilde's film does all this through dynamic camerawork embodied in a comic story with only four actors: two married or partnered couples of the same age who share a ceiling or a floor in the same building, and who during their first joint dinner get the chance to get to know each other better. This meeting gently introduces the audience to the dimension of the story with hidden motives, but also shows the need to socialize with the neighbor at a time of general saturation with that type of social exchange. Olivia Wilde recognized, precisely mapped, and then stored the additional potentials of Cesko Gay's text in the larger picture. In the first place, however, we should emphasize the skill with which she completely "bleeded" and played out a reduced story, which is based on the human need to be superior: both with close people and with strangers who, at the same time, need to be charmed and impressed and won over. In just over a hundred minutes Call finely and skilfully layers the story, masterfully builds it and leads the rhythm, combines the expression of commercial film and ideas that are usually found in independent film productions.
photo: blitz film...
PROCEEDING AS A LIFE ATTITUDE
And precisely being in the middle is not only a strong point of reference for this film, but also a well-thought-out starting point. Call calls to mind the best works from the best and most potent phase of the film career of one Paul Mazurski (of course, the first association is a juicy and racial satire on the alleged sexual and other self-emancipatory self-illusions of the seventies Bob & Carol & Ted & Elis), but also echoes of a masterpiece singles Cameron Crowe from the beginning of the nineties, and as an analogy, the dramedy about procrastination anxiety of the new days naturally arises, the film While we are young Noah Baumbach. None of this, however, should lead to the impression that Olivia Wilde should be considered derivative, because Call can serve as a concise reminder and example of the evolution of rom-coms, with the fact that this work, despite its noticeable universality, is still first and foremost a healthy and true child of this time. This is most obvious in the aspect concerning the conception and more detailed profiling of the characters. Each of the participants bears contemporary marks ranging from impressive but also functional awkwardness, unhealed spleen, superficiality, to the urge for passive-aggressive patronization of the more restrained. Actually, Call is also a procrastination fantasy in which joy is caused by just a hint of change, even when it is quite clear that everything will remain just a dream and a fantasy. However, dreams and fantasies should be nurtured and kept as a principled option and self-deception. In addition, Call is a really hilarious comedy with extremely likable actors and linguistic bravado, a comedy that, among other things, problematizes and makes inspired use of two illustrative and ubiquitous psychological and then sociological phenomena marked by the sounding acronyms FOMO (Fear of missing out = fear of missing something) and JOMO (Joy of missing out = joy that we will miss something), and that in equal measure. The impeccable acting team (Olivia Wilde, Seth Rougein, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton) should not be wasted on self-evident words of praise, but it is time to point out that the punch lines went to Seth Rougein. There is some (at least cosmic) justice in that, because... Call for the most part, it also imposes itself as a masterful paraphrase and extension of the comedy Zack and Miri are filming a porn movie. (2008), in which Rouget shared the screen with Elizabeth Banks.
Finally, again the subversion that is in I'm calling showed healthy roots in several relevant aspects, starting with the attitude towards the heritage of romantic comedy (which does not have to be extremely romantic, but inevitably has to be witty and entertaining), and the key reflection of subversion here is still recognized in the superior quality that reconciles the alleged contradictions: with the obligatory umbrella of superior storytelling and film craft, it is still possible to make an effective, superior film with a perfect balance of entertainment and intelligence. A clear five, then.
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