Anna and her eight year old son Anders are under the witness protection program following a difficult relationship with Anders’ father. They move into a large apartment complex. Anna becomes overprotective of her son and even buys a babycall to keep track of him. Soon, strange noices from other apartments appear on the monitor, and Anna overhears what might be the murder of a child. Meanwhile, Anders’ mysterious new friend starts visiting at odd hours, claiming that he has keys for all the doors in the building … Does this new friend know anything about the murder? And why is Anders’ drawing stained with blood? Is Anna’s son still in danger ? –Norwegian Film Institute
Great drama/thriller with a stellar performances from both Rapace and Joner. Sure it might be predictable plotwise but the movie really shines when it comes to portraying the heartbreaking sadness of Rapace's character. There is also a great use of understated music and sounddesign, and the austere locations give the movie an eerie quality.
Moody and nicely shot but ultimately rather predictable. I guessed what was going on within the first 40 minutes and from then on it was simply a case of waiting for the inevitable. Still, nice performance by Noomi Rapace - not on par with her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Millennium trilogy, but that was always going to be a tough act to follow.
Could have been so much better with another ending. The first hour is brilliant; Sletaune really knows how to create a Polanski apartment. But sadly he's not very good with plot twists ("Naboer" also suffers from this). Still, "Babycall" is much better than the regular scandinavian thriller - the restrained visual style is masterful. Three very strong stars.
