Netflix's crime thriller The Guilty takes place over the span of one 911 operator's incredibly tense shift, and as such, it leaves more than a few unanswered questions. In this remake of the 2018 Danish film of the same name, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Joe Baylor, an LAPD officer working in a 911 call center. Joe is revealed early on to be awaiting a court hearing for an incident that happened while he was on duty several months prior to the events of the film. After Joe receives a call from a young woman named Emily Lighton who says she has been abducted, he begins his own investigation in order to rescue her.
The Guilty focuses on both Joe's attempts to help Emily and on how his professional and personal life have fallen apart. It's a tense and concise film, and Gyllenhaal's excellent performance has earned The Guilty positive reviews. As the whole narrative exists within a single night in a single location, all of the film's revelations take place via phone calls and conversations, leaving much of what occurs to the audience's imagination.
As The Guilty is a narrative is filled with twists, turns, and revelations, its realistic framing device actually leaves many things ambiguous. The tell-don't-show style has been used to great effect in numerous other films, but it forces The Guilty to leave a number of burning questions unanswered. Some of them may be easier to puzzle out than others, but there are some that simply cannot be answered - despite The Guilty's true-story inspiration.
Why Did Joe Kill The Boy?
One of The Guilty's twists is the revelation that the incident alluded to throughout the film was that Joe killed a young man named Joseph while on duty. His only real explanation for this is delivered with extreme emotion, and it's hard to extrapolate the exact reason for Joe's actions. Joe initially claims he killed Joseph just because he could, then adds that he wanted to punish him. He goes on to add that Joseph had hurt someone, but he isn't able to say this with any conviction, doubting himself even as he speaks it out loud. Finally, he stutters out something about his father that isn't expanded upon. In Joe's emotional explanation of what happened, it's not clear why Joe committed the crime - in fact, it's implied that Joe himself doesn't even know.
Why Was Joe Separated From His Wife?
It's clear from the beginning that Joe's professional integrity is very much in question, and that his relationship with his wife Jess is strained. It's easy to assume that the two are linked, but there are several aspects of the film that imply otherwise. Joe demonstrates his explosive temper numerous times over the course of the film, and while Jess appears to dodge his calls, she does inform him that his partner has been in talks with the FBI, implying that she's at least partly backing him in his case. There's also the matter of Joe's daughter Paige - it's implied that he's estranged from her, too, which isn't likely the result of his professional issues. Jess and Paige's part in The Guilty's cast of characters is incredibly limited, but it seems most likely that Joe's anger and instability are the reason behind the familial rift - either way, this isn't a question that The Guilty answers.
How Did Oliver Survive?
One of The Guilty's many twists is that Oliver, the infant son of Emily and Henry, is badly injured and presumed dead after being left alone with his six-year-old sister, Abby. It's revealed that Emily hurt him when she says she "took the snakes out of his belly" - implying that she at least attempted to disembowel him. Responding officers claim that there is blood everywhere at the scene, and the one- or two-year-old boy has been gravely injured for roughly an hour. The same officers are both heard saying that he's not breathing, and their reaction implies that his injuries are horrific, but part of The Guilty's twist ending reveals that Oliver has survived his injuries. It's not clear exactly how, as by all accounts his injuries - and the time that passed since he sustained them - should have killed him, although how exactly he beat those odds isn't something that the film addresses.
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What Will Happen To Emily And Henry?
Emily and Henry are the parents of Abby and Oliver, and their futures are uncertain at the time that The Guilty's credits roll. Emily has received prior treatment for her mental illness before she injured Oliver, and if indeed the boy survives the events of the film, she will most likely receive more robust medical care. However, Henry has a history of assault, and then fled the scene of a crime without notifying the police, kidnapping his ex-wife in the process. One of The Guilty's twists reveals that his intention was to get Emily somewhere safe, but he also left Abby, his six-year-old daughter, alone with a badly wounded Oliver. Given Henry's criminal record, it seems likely that he'd also end up behind bars.
What Will Happen To Abby And Oliver?
What happens to the children largely depends on what happens to their parents. It's safe to say that Emily would not be allowed to care for them, and if Henry also faces prison, then it's most likely that the children would pass into the care of a relative or foster family. There's also the question of whether or not Oliver will survive his injuries - it's revealed at the end of the film that he is alive and in the ICU, but there's no word on his actual condition, so the children's future is far from certain.
What Will Happen To Joe?
It's revealed that Joe pleads guilty to manslaughter at the end of the film after admitting to Emily that he had no reason to kill Joseph. While many of the other factors of the incident remain unknown, there are numerous real-life precedents for Joe's situation. With recent high-profile convictions of police officers resulting in lengthy prison sentences, it seems that Joe is set to receive the same treatment. Regardless of his guilty plea and apparent remorse, the most apparent outcome is that he will serve a stint behind bars.
Does The Guilty Defend Or Condemn Police Brutality?
There's some debate about The Guilty's exact stance on the issue of police brutality and misconduct. While Joe isn't an entirely unsympathetic protagonist, he does demonstrate numerous volatile and dangerous behaviors, seeing himself as a victim until the events of the film change his perspective. While some believe that The Guilty puts a sympathetic face to police brutality, others believe that it serves as a chilling examination of how dangerous people can find themselves in positions of power - although Joe's unstable nature and unpleasant treatment of those around him means that the film leans more towards the latter. Leaving this one ambiguous was a wise move on director Antoine Fuqua's part, as explicitly taking a stance on the pressing issue might have hampered the film's wider appeal and alienated some of its potential audience.
What Is The Significance Of Joe's Headaches And Inhaler?
Quite possibly The Guilty's most confusing unanswered question has no clear explanation. Joe's reliance on his inhaler is apparent, although he spends much of the film clutching it, and as he uses it only scarcely, it seemingly acts as a talisman to his toxic masculinity as he struggles against his own limitations. Between his bouts of rage and his frequent headaches, it's implied that Joe is struggling to come to terms with his actions, but no wider context is offered for either the headaches or the inhaler, and this one seems destined to remain unanswered.
The Guilty's single setting and 90-minute runtime don't offer much scope for exploring the wider implications of its story. While this might feel unsatisfying to some, it adds to the film's realism and makes for a far more immersive experience. In some films, the pursuit of realism can become a problem, but for The Guilty it's the opposite, painting a harrowing and all-too-plausible picture of modern-day law enforcement. It may not answer every single question it raises, but that only serves to make The Guilty all the more memorable.