What a great film! (SPOILERS!)

I wasn't sure how a movie about a suicide crisis center could lasts for 2hrs, but this was brilliant-- tense til the very end. There was some (gallows) humor to lighten up the movie and plenty of mystery to keep me guessing trying to figure out all the WHYS, but for the most part it was almost heartbreaking to watch.

The performances by Bancroft and Poitier were fantastic. Bancroft was chilling. The scene when she runs into the hospital desperate to talk to someone and no one was really listening to her and she just gave up. I mean, she's been cycling through moods all through the movie, but when her face hardened as she walked out, wow. I could feel it. And Poitier, his desperation to keep her on the phone and then finally getting pissed and going off on her--great. Most people will probably think, "oh he's just giving another moralistic speech", but I didn't see that here. I saw a man at the end of his wits, maddened with frustration.

And of course Pollack's direction. His zoomed in close-ups, and the fact that the story is told in a lot of flashbacks is used to great effect here. It's what keeps the tension (well, that and Quincy Jones' score) at moments. There were somethings that left me confused. Like I could never figure out exactly what the husband Mark was feeling (after the big reveal). I kinda wish he had more lines because the actor's facial expression left a lot to be desired.

Anyway, all in all, I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would on a Thursday morning. And I kinda want to visit Seattle now.