Jakob Cedergren in The Guilty (Magnolia Pictures)

 Stories set in one main location that develop in real time, like Clerks, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Breakfast Club, are usually delightful treats. They regularly involve an otherwise mundane setting and extreme circumstances and occur in multiple genres. In the case of The Guilty, it may very well be one of a kind.

What appears to be a normal work day for emergency dispatcher Asger Holm, in a passive-aggressive performance by Jakob Cedergren, suddenly takes a turn for the worse when he receives a phone call from a kidnapped woman. From here on, we’re in for a ride in this profound character study, which questions who is the real guilty party, as well as the concept of good and evil. The dark room scenario, the masterful close-up shots, and the eerie sound of voices heard only through the telephone all increase the pressure that Asger faces. With the help of silence and the clever sound design, viewers actually feel as though they are in Asger’s shoes.

While certainly a thriller, this Danish tour de force also manages to play out like a literary novel (or podcast). Usually when a film occurs in a single setting, audiences watch the plot unfold right before their eyes; here, they have to imagine the offscreen drama (and plot twists) without being able to leave the room. (The camera always stays by Asger’s side.) I hate to repeat the “edge of your seat” cliché, but this is what exactly happens as one experiences the constant tension, anxiety, desperation, and even claustrophobia in this movie.

The sound of an aspirin hitting the water is used as a prelude to one of the central messages director Gustav Möller conveys: police are also human beings with feelings and personal issues who do dedicated work on a daily basis that get very little to no appreciation. This theme is also evident when Asger becomes involved emotionally and personally in this case, without resting until its resolution. When an exhausted Asger exits the dark call center, it’s as if he’s walking out of a dungeon, but it’s just another day on the job.

With its defiance to boldly remind us how there are no limits to storytelling, Möller’s first feature film amazes.