Your Emergency

A short thriller written and directed by Matthew Simpson and starring Grace Berry, Haley Sanders, Jonathan Ryder and Davis Murphy. This film was made by film students during college.

Jane (Berry) works as a dispatcher, dealing with urgent matters. Her son's birthday is approaching and she believes she will not be able to attend due to her job commitments and tells him so over the phone. She then finds herself having to deal with a situation where a woman named Hannah (Sanders) discreetly states that she, along with her young son, Liam (Murphy) are in danger of being harmed by her husband (Ryder). Jane must now give everything she has to resolve the crisis.

A tense, suspenseful and dramatic thriller that bears resemblance to other works such as The Guilty (2021) and Buried (2010), mainly because there is (more or less) only one on-screen character and they are dealing with life-threatening situations. On the surface, this is a thriller about a determined woman trying to save the lives of a woman and her child and that works very effectively, creating a nail-biting atmosphere as Jane communicates with Hannah through her headset, instructing her what to do in order to survive as the situation rapidly goes from bad to worse. There is more to this story than being a thriller though, as it is also a family drama, with the narrative exploring how her committment to her work has began to isolate her from her loved ones, especially her son. And all the drama and tension is supported by Yuta Suzuki's music.

Almost the entirety of the story takes place in an emergency call centre and Jane (with the exception of a couple of background actors) is the only person seen on camera, as mentioned. Berry's performance is vital in order for the film to have an impact and she nails it, showing the stress and anxiety that her character goes through, which are captured by the frequent close-ups of her face. Jane is a woman who is dedicated to her demanding position, but has being alienated from her family as a result and as the story progresses, she goes through significant character development as her skills are pushed to the limit and she re-evaluates her life.

As her role is the protagonist and sole on-screen character, Berry gets the most credit. However, the voice performances of the rest of the cast are to be also commended, examples being Sanders as a distressed mother who is in grave danger and Ryder as her dangerous and potentially murderous husband.

The screenplay explores what the life of a dispatcher is like, dealing with life-and-death situations on a regular basis and trying to balance work with their personal life. The film is also about mental strength, courage, family values and domestic violence. A main message seems to be that even when people have very serious responsibilities and commitments, they must never let themselves become detached from their loved ones.

An compelling and emotional roller coaster that is also quite thought-provoking. It is very well filmed, has strong acting and taking under consideration that it was made by college students, it is exciting to wonder what they will achieve in the future.