The Call
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.
Despite its modest budget of $13.0M, The Call became a solid performer, earning $68.6M worldwide—a 427% return. The film's fresh perspective resonated with audiences, illustrating how strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Call (2013) demonstrates strategically placed narrative design, characteristic of Brad Anderson's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 34 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Jordan Turner is a confident, skilled 911 operator at the LAPD emergency call center, training new recruits and managing high-pressure situations with competence and calm authority.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 11 minutes when Jordan takes a call from teenager Leah Templeton whose home is being broken into. When Jordan calls back after the line disconnects, the phone rings and alerts the intruder to Leah's hiding place, leading to her abduction and murder.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 24 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to During a training tour, Jordan hears a panicked call from Casey Welson, a teenager trapped in the trunk of a moving car. When the assigned operator freezes, Jordan actively chooses to take over the call, returning to the work that destroyed her., moving from reaction to action.
At 47 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat False defeat: The kidnapper discovers Casey has a phone and destroys it after a violent confrontation. Jordan loses contact with Casey completely, and the police lose the trail. The connection that sustained both women is severed., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 68 minutes (72% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Jordan and Paul discover the kidnapper's lair but find it abandoned - Casey has already been taken to a secondary location. They've failed, and Casey faces death just like Leah. Jordan faces her worst fear: being too late again., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 74 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Jordan discovers a crucial clue at the kidnapper's property and makes the active choice to pursue the killer herself, abandoning her operator role. She crosses from passive guide to active rescuer, combining her 911 knowledge with direct action., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Call's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping The Call against these established plot points, we can identify how Brad Anderson utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Call within the crime genre.
Brad Anderson's Structural Approach
Among the 4 Brad Anderson films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. The Call takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Brad Anderson filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Batman Forever and 12 Rounds. For more Brad Anderson analyses, see The Machinist, TransSiberian and Beirut.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Jordan Turner is a confident, skilled 911 operator at the LAPD emergency call center, training new recruits and managing high-pressure situations with competence and calm authority.
Theme
A trainer tells Jordan, "It's not about the call you just took, it's about the next one" - establishing the theme of moving past trauma and redemption through action rather than paralysis.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the high-tech 911 call center "Hive," Jordan's competence, her relationship with Officer Paul Phillips, and the intense pressure of emergency dispatch work where every second matters.
Disruption
Jordan takes a call from teenager Leah Templeton whose home is being broken into. When Jordan calls back after the line disconnects, the phone rings and alerts the intruder to Leah's hiding place, leading to her abduction and murder.
Resistance
Six months later, Jordan is traumatized and unable to take calls, relegated to teaching. She struggles with guilt and PTSD, avoiding the Hive floor, while Leah's killer remains uncaught. Jordan debates whether she can ever return to emergency work.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
During a training tour, Jordan hears a panicked call from Casey Welson, a teenager trapped in the trunk of a moving car. When the assigned operator freezes, Jordan actively chooses to take over the call, returning to the work that destroyed her.
Mirror World
Jordan forms an intense connection with Casey through the phone, becoming her lifeline and guide. Their relationship represents the theme - Jordan can't save Leah, but she can save Casey, finding redemption through this new bond.
Premise
The "fun and games" of a 911 operator guiding a kidnapping victim in real-time. Jordan uses her skills to help Casey make noise, leave evidence, and communicate with the outside world while police pursue the moving vehicle.
Midpoint
False defeat: The kidnapper discovers Casey has a phone and destroys it after a violent confrontation. Jordan loses contact with Casey completely, and the police lose the trail. The connection that sustained both women is severed.
Opposition
Jordan desperately works with police to track the kidnapper through evidence. Casey fights for survival alone in captivity. Jordan realizes the kidnapper is the same man who killed Leah - her past failure and present mission collide, raising personal stakes.
Collapse
Jordan and Paul discover the kidnapper's lair but find it abandoned - Casey has already been taken to a secondary location. They've failed, and Casey faces death just like Leah. Jordan faces her worst fear: being too late again.
Crisis
Jordan processes the devastating realization that she cannot save Casey through proper channels or her 911 skills. The system has failed. She must decide whether to accept another loss or break protocol and act directly.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Jordan discovers a crucial clue at the kidnapper's property and makes the active choice to pursue the killer herself, abandoning her operator role. She crosses from passive guide to active rescuer, combining her 911 knowledge with direct action.
Synthesis
Jordan infiltrates the killer's underground lair, finds Casey alive, and together they overpower the abductor. Jordan and Casey trap him in the same cell where he kept his victims, choosing justice outside the system that failed them both.
Transformation
Jordan walks away from the buried killer without calling for help, having transformed from a guilt-ridden operator who follows protocol into someone who takes justice into her own hands. She and Casey share a knowing look - they've both survived and chosen their own ending.