Closed Circuit (Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall)

[Holmes]

I could not find a thread for this film for the life of me. I apologize if there is one.

I saw it last night. My, if you will, mini-review:

Closed Circuit is a capable and well-crafted, if unspectacular legal suspense film in the vein of (though not in the same league as) The Conversation and the State of Play mini-series. Set in London, the film focuses on a pair of lawyers, only one of whom is authorized to review top-secret documents, defending a Muslim man suspected of involvement in a bombing which claimed over 100 lives. Of course, there is more to the story than either first realizes, and they soon discover a complicated web of government conspiracy and deception, endangering themselves furhter with each new revelation. Every aesthetic choice is spot-on, from the blue, overcast tint to shots which emphasize a sense of paranoia by observing characters from afar through city windows. It never fails to resemble an atmospheric, top-flight spy film.

The acting is strong, too, with Eric Bana conveying a certain exhausted dedication as the male protagonist, as if he continues to push forward with his various briefings and investigations despite desiring a shave, a nap, and an aspirin, while Rebecca Hall counters with a more dignified and regal portrayal of legal intelligence and ambition. And in a small, but important role as the Attorney General, Jim Broadbent infuses his smiling and tender presence, so often used to perfection in comedies and lighter fare such as the Bridget Jones films, with an insinuating, sinister dimension. It is the storyline where Closed Circuit, however involving in the moment (and it is indeed riveting most of the time), fails to set itself apart to a significant degree. Information is at times conveyed with a thud instead of with playful grace (notice how one purportedly friendly character reveals his complicity in the central MI5 conspiracy in a dolt worthy slip), and the ending is a tad anticlimactic and afraid to go to the cynical, no-good-deed-goes-unpunished lengths to which it clearly aspires for a moment before shying away, shoehorning in an unearned hint of left-wing uplift.

B or *** and 1/2 out of *****