“On The Line” is the latest movie directed by “Connected” alum Romuald Boulanger. The movie stars the former “Sexiest Man Alive,” aka Mel Gibson as Elvis Cooney, William Moseley as Dylan, and Nadia Fares as Sam Dubois. As far as the genre goes, “On the Line” is a brilliant psychological thriller and is definitely a must-watch. Elvis Cooney’s life is plunged into madness and chaos when a mysterious caller calls his station and forces him to play a deadly game to save his family’s life. The clock is ticking, and Elvis only has a few hours to uncover the identity of his secret caller and save both his wife’s and daughter’s life. The movie also harbors a mind-blowing twist which is revealed in the climax.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In the ‘On The Line’ Movie?
Mark is a loving father and a caring husband who always puts his family’s needs before his. One night after putting his daughter to sleep, Mark turns the keys to his Mustang and leaves for his station. After arriving at the station, he is handed the show’s itinerary by his assistant Mary and he meets the new intern Dylan. Afterward, he’s tipped off by his boss, Sam, who tells him to do something exciting because his show is dying despite having a great concept. Mark goes on air and introduces his audience to his new sound intern, Dylan. After talking to a couple of callers and giving advice on relationships and sports, Elvis is met with a call that’s going to change his life forever. The caller is Garry, and he informs Mark that he is planning to do something really stupid, but he soon disconnects the call, and Elvis once again begins to take other callers. Elvis connects to Garry again, and the latter tells him that he is standing in someone’s garden, intending to kill his whole family. Elvis tries to calm Garry down, but his expression changes when Gary reveals that he’s in Elvis’ house. Garry continues by saying that he has already killed his Doberman and is going to slaughter his family unless he confesses that he is cheating on his wife with Marry. Garry is a madman who blames Elvis for ruining Lauren’s life, who also worked as a switchboard operator at his station. Lauren was employed for a few months but suddenly disappeared one day. In her absence, Elvis continued to joke about her prompting her to take her own life. Gary asks Elvis to go to the roof and shows him the place where Lauren used to cry when Elvis humiliated her. We learn that Garry works in the same building and has met Elvis on many occasions. Garry says that no one ever cared about Lauren and blamed Elvis for being the same. Garry badly wants to see Elvis punished for Lauren’s death and demands he jump or he’ll shoot his family. Elvis tricks Garry by faking his jump, and Dylan lies to Garry and confirms his death. But Garry was keeping watch via a drone and, after knowing the truth, he opened fire, confirming Elvis’ worst fears.
The Cat-And-Mouse Chase
The cops enter Elvis’ house and inform him the house is empty; there is no sign of forced entry and no bodies. Elvis follows the trail of blood and comes across the guard’s body, and Garry blames his death on Elvis. Elvis realizes that his family is alive for now and Garry is keeping them at some other place, and he needs to find him before he punishes his family for his mistakes. Garry offers Elvis one more chance to save his wife and daughter, but he has to play a game. Garry has rigged the entire building with explosives and agrees to let everyone go if Elvis finds him before the clock runs out. The game begins, and Elvis and Dylan begin scorching the building for Garry. The duo meets Tony, who hasn’t left the building and is stealing the station’s equipment. Tony attacks Dylan believing him to be Garry’s accomplice and Garry asks Elvis to Kill Tony, but Elvis denies it. Garry really hates Elvis and is planning to ruin everything related to him, even his posters which Garry has marked with the term “Scumbag.” Garry worked in the same building as Elvis and had grown a liking towards Lauren. Both Garry and Lauren have been a victim in a way. Lauren has to sit through hours of humiliation, and Garry is often put to shame by others, even if he welcomes them with a grin. Garry was also kicked out of the military and was branded “unfit for duty.” As a result, Garry was forced to work as a security guard. Garry’s life was finally on track when he made friends with Lauren, who was the only person that was ever nice and gentle towards him, but Elvis’s continued humiliation broke the last thread too. And that’s when Garry decided to show Elvis how it feels to be on the other side of the fence.
Elvis and Dylan deduce Garry to be hiding in the camera room located in the basement but distracts Garry by telling him that they are coming upstairs to find him. But their confidence is short-lived when Elvis and Dylan find Justin’s body in the camera room, suggesting that Garry was and is a few moves ahead of him.
‘On The Line’ Ending Explained: Was Elvis Able To Save His Family?
Elvis and Dylan finally catch up to Garry in the radio room, where he’s holding Marry and Steven hostage. Elvis puts a knife to Garry’s throat, and the call from LAPD SWAT’s Bruce reveals that his family is wrapped up in bombs only he can defuse. Garry is overly calm for someone who’s an inch away from gargling in his own blood. Why? Because Garry has already planned everything from entering the building to his exit plan. He has his finger on the detonator, and any sudden movement will seal the fate of Elvis’s family and everyone in the building. For Elvis, it’s a race against time to save his daughter and wife, but Garry sees this as a game. He laughs, cracks jokes, and talks very politely to the callers to soften the situation. According to him, Elvis has already had his fun, and now it’s his chance to even the odds. Garry provides Bruce with the code, and the latter deactivates the bomb and escorts Elvis’ family out safely. But there’s a catch; Dylan has to wear the explosive vest instead, putting his life in jeopardy. Marry tries to find common ground with Garry saying that she likewise has suffered the same humiliation Lauren had to digest every day, but it was all in vain. Bruce tries to convince Garry to surrender but is shot in the skull. Garry has finally lost it and removes his finger from the detonator, and we see a prolonged shot of Dylan’s face and hear his troubled breathing as he is about to be blown to bits. But it was all a Joke!!
What!!? In reality, this was another one of Elvis’ sick pranks that he had been planning for weeks. Everyone was in on it; including James Steel; the social media star who canceled in the beginning, Marry, Steven, and the security guard, everyone. They’re all having a great laugh, but it was by no means funny for Dylan. For Dylan, it wasn’t just a harmless prank; it was one big sick joke. He was really terrified and wasn’t built for such situations, and had often begged Elvis to involve cops rather than handling everything on his own. The blood, the bombs, and the gore were too much for him to digest. Dylan’s decision not to utter a single word implies that he has finally decided to leave his job and never return. The group chases Dylan justifying their prank as harmless and funny, but Dylan loses his balance and plummets down the stairs, and hits his head on the pipe. Marry goes on to check on his condition, but he has already died.
It has happened; Elvis’ cruel pranks have finally claimed one life. Elvis is having a hard time believing it and walks out of the building in silence, blaming himself for Dylan’s death. Dylan’s silence and tears falling down his eyes when he was confronted by his boss suggested the same. But the movie was yet to reveal its biggest twist. Actually the entire station came together to prank the prankster and make Elvis’ birthday memorable. Dylan reveals to Elvis that his real name is Max, and he is a stuntman. Everyone is having a great laugh, and Elvis swears to exact his revenge suggesting that he’ll soon be carrying out his new prank. Elvis deems his pranks as harmless and non-malicious but, sooner or later, would’ve hurt someone; psychologically or mentally. Elvis was beaten at his own game, and even after that, he doesn’t want to put an end to such pranks but to get back at his colleagues. Pranks are funny and harmless, but they can take a much sinister turn when one forgets to draw a line.
“On the Line” is a 2022 mystery thriller film starring Mel Gibson.
