Susan Sarandon is a wonderful, accomplished actress, capable of a broad range of roles, but the one thing she cannot do at this stage of her career is convincingly play the part of a small-time cop investigating a series of gruesome murders. The Calling does not fail because of the casting of Sarandon as the tin badge in a one-horse, two-detective town in eastern Canada, who steals prescription pills from crime scenes and washes them down with Jim Beam, but the glacial pace of the story gives ample time to dwell on the mistake.
Sarandon plays Detective Hazel Micallef, a back surgery survivor who lives with her mom in Port Dundas – 82-year old Ellen Burstyn, who, like the 68-year old Sarandon, is an Oscar winner. The Calling stockpiles so much underused talent that it resembles the Los Angeles Dodgers outfield. Burstyn’s big scene in the film is when she falls asleep in the living room chair, leaving Sarandon and the audience to believe for a moment that she’s fallen victim to the film’s serial killer. (more…)
Meet Mr. Karma 