After a long eight hour day, many people just want to get away from anything that reminds them of their job. But, sometimes it can be enjoyable watching your job be played out on the big screen. You can spot what Hollywood got right … and what they got very, very wrong!
If you’re an emergency dispatcher and you’re ready for an entertaining evening, check out one of these four movies featuring 911 dispatchers.
The Guilty (2018)
If you’re okay with subtitles, this movie is for you! The Guilty is a Danish thriller about an emergency dispatcher who answers a call from a kidnapped woman. The dispatcher gets heavily invested in the case and promises the woman’s six-year old that he’ll get the mom back. Watch the suspense playout in less than 90 minutes of action-packed plot. The Guilty won awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Operator (2015)
Starring the OC’s Mischa Barton, this movie follows an emergency dispatcher being toyed with by a caller. Mischa Barton, playing Pamela, finds out the caller has kidnapped her daughter. She is forced to send out messages through dispatch for fire and police units to be called to remote locations where they are met with unpleasant surprises. Pamela’s estranged cop officer is brought into the game and forced to participate in crimes by the kidnapper. In the end, the couple has to choose between saving their daughter or saving the city.
The Call (2013)
Halle Berry plays 911 emergency dispatcher Jordan Turner. In this suspenseful movie, Turner takes a call from a young woman right before she is about to be kidnapped. She speaks to the kidnapper and is unable to save the girl, who is ultimately killed. When it turns out to be a serial killer and the next victim calls in to say she’s been kidnapped, Turner is determined not to lose another girl to this monster
Dispatch (2015)
This movie has a different plot than the others on the list. A dispatcher makes a decision on a call that has tragic consequences and results in her being fired. Chris McCullers (played by Fiona Gubelmann) then becomes obsessed with the case and is determined to right her mistakes. She risks her life in trying to get to the bottom of what really happened.
Bonus
The Operator (11:55 minutes)
Dispatch (6:56 minutes)
Did Hollywood get anything completely wrong? Let us know in the comments below!
