Stephen Abell
This movie tries to work on the audience's paranoia by showing them that the government, or a greater power, has control over everything and sees everything... you are nothing but a pawn in their game... should you try to challenge them then you are expendable.It comes close to succeeding until you realise the amount of manpower surveillance on this scale would take. It's just not feasible. Though forget that and you have a pretty decent conspiracy theory movie about a bumbled MI5 operation and the lengths they will go to correct their error.Eric Bana proves his acting talent once again by giving a good portrayal of a lawyer dropped into the mess. Scared and worried about the outcome, not just for himself but ex-girlfriend and colleague, Claudia Simmons-Howe, and the child of the suspected terrorist whose lives are at risk.Though Eric Bana gives a good performance as Martin Rose, along with Jim Broadbent as the Attorney General, it's Rebecca Hall as Claudia that lets the story down. I'm not sure if it's her acting or the director's vision of this character. I like the idea of Claudia not fully understanding the situation she's gotten into and later having to rely on Rose for help and to keep her alive as he is the savviest of the pair. She comes across as too weak and I cannot believe she achieved the position she holds.The story is a little convoluted at times with twists, hints, and allegations being brandished about. The concept of Trust No One is very evident in this film and you have trouble figuring out who to believe and who not to. This hinders the story somewhat because you know what the story is about right from the start it's just the journey to a satisfactory ending you're on and you better fasten that seatbelt... it sure is a bumpy ride.This one is a must for the conspiracy theory nuts, of which I am one, though be warned it's not a smooth ride.
diana-y-paul
"Closed Circuit" (2013), an adrenaline-pumping political thriller, portrays corrupt government forces who will stop at nothing. It's an exciting genre. The title "Closed Circuit" is designed to raise the alarm over both the injustice of closed court hearings and the use of surveillance technology. Covert surveillance amplifies the sense that London has become a police state with ubiquitous security cameras. We don't know who's watching or how they're using what they see. The opening scene provides the hook. After a truck explodes in London's bustling Borough Market, killling 120 people, authorities at MI5 swiftly arrest a Muslim immigrant, Farroukh Erdogan based on closed circuit surveillance. Read the entire review at: unhealedwound.com
primaveranz
This movie starts out with some promise, but rapidly deteriorates into a very formulaic and lazily-written attempt to ride the bandwagon of the war on terrorism and conspiracy theories. MI5 freely murders people left right and centre and in plain view to avoid embarrassment. You can spot the hidden baddies a mile off and Jim Broadbent is terribly miscast as the sinister Attorney General. The MI5 boss should never play Poker as her face contorts and she stutters whenever she is asked an awkward question. MI5 sends a single ham-fisted killer to take out an unarmed woman and fails. The security services rely on a teenage boy with a USB stick who apparently has more computer skills than all their specialists. There is zero chemistry between Bana and Hall - which probably explains why they don't end up in bed together (that fact is actually one of the strong points of the storyline). This is a shorthand, rushed and clumsy story,and the (usually strong) cast struggle to make anything of it. Such a waste of time and I'll bet the writer knew it when he handed it in.
jtindahouse
The tagline for this film "they see your every move" has been a very relevant theme in my country (New Zealand) lately, brought to light in our general election. The debate over spying and what was and was not acceptable raged throughout the country for months on end and was a very hot topic among the politicians. 'Closed Circuit' seems to have marketed itself as a film based around this, however when you actually get around to watching it it's very much a background issue merely used to drive the plot in a few instances. Usually I would be disappointed about being mislead like this, but in this case the film itself more than makes up for it.Here we have an intelligent, well-written and well acted thriller. The way that everything is so story driven you could easily have mistaken this for an American movie. It's taken the best of both British and American film and combined them perfectly. Eric Bana, admittedly not one of my favourite actors, is passable in this. He adequately drives the story and carries one or two scenes which require it.The ending seems to be a bone of contention for a few people. Personally I liked it. Too many people these days demand a movie be wrapped up in a tight little basket of perfection at the end, but sadly that's not how the world works. There isn't always justice in this world of ours and I admire any movie brave enough to portray that.
AD
