The Calling is a 2014 Canadian crime thriller film adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Michael Redhill (published under the pen name Inger Ash Wolfe).
The film stars Susan Sarandon, Gil Bellows, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace, Donald Sutherland, and Christopher Heyerdahl.
Inspector Hazel Micallef (Susan Sarandon) is a police officer in the small Ontario town of Fort Dundas.
Micallef's deputy, Ben Wingate (Topher Grace), uses his mother's travel points to fly to British Columbia to follow a lead from the Delia Chandler killing.
At a local coffee shop, a mysterious man (Christopher Heyerdahl) enters and chats with the waitress (Kristin Booth).
Los Angeles Times reviewer Gary Goldstein praised the film, calling it "an absorbing, solidly crafted procedural thriller" and noting positively on Stone's directing, Abramovitch's writing, and Sarandon's performance[4] which Goldstein later awarded the Best Actress designation in Los Angeles Times' 4th Annual "Level The Playing Field" nominations during Oscar season.
[5] Pete Vonder Haar of The Village Voice wrote that "The Calling breathes new life into a moribund genre by touching oft-ignored themes and offering a bit of introspection to go along with the obligatory slashed throats and biblical portents.
"[6] In her three star review of the film, critic Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News noted "If there are any cable executives out there looking for the next great drama, they might want to check out The Calling.
[8] Frank Scheck, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, also notes the lack of momentum and cites Stone's pacing as "[keeping] the atmosphere oppressively moody to the point of sluggish tedium," but praises the performances of the actors, especially Heyerdahl's "real level of creepiness.
"[9] RogerEbert.com writer Brian Tallerico called the film "a depressingly bad movie" that "miraculously finds a way to waste the prodigious talents of Susan Sarandon, Ellen Burstyn, and Donald Sutherland", likening it to "the colorful elements of Fargo and Seven [blended] into a bland beige.
"[10] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph called the film's plot predictable and noted that "the dread barely bobs above sea level".