“Closed Circuit” is supposed to be a mystery-thriller.
Unfortunately, it’s neither mysterious nor thrilling. And the central
characters, played by Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall, while adequately acted, are
not very interesting. The first half of the movie is more than adequate, but
the last half falls apart with too many coincidences and an implausibly weak
ending. The movie begins with security-camera footage of a London bombing, then
dives into the closed-door trial of the suspect, Farroukh Erdogan (Denis
Moschitto). After his lawyer dies, hotshot Martin Rose (Bana) is named his
replacement. Martin will work parallel to special advocate Claudia Simmons-Howe
(Hall), but because of the top-secret evidence in the case, the two are
forbidden from having any contact. But they once had an affair.
Every character, from the investigative journalist (Julia
Stiles) to the shadowy attorney general (Jim Broadbent) to the faithful friend
(Ciaran Hinds), turns out to be exactly who you expected. Plus our heroes are
not interesting enough to hold our interest and for a couple that once had an
affair, there’s absolutely no chemistry, their meaningful glances not
withstanding. “Closed Circuit”
aims to raise viewers’ fears about surveillance, showing us how Martin and
Claudia can’t escape the watchful eye of Big Brother. But this never feels
menacing and the conclusion is about as unsatisfying as it can be. 9/4/13
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