John Crowley’s topical yet workmanlike thriller pits imperiled barristers against British counter-terrorists who kill to keep secret operational errors that are WikiLeaks worthy; collateral damage includes a deputy bureau chief of the New York Times. Six months after a truck bomb detonates in a market, killing 120 Londoners, the initial attorney for imprisoned suspect Farroukh (Denis Moschitto) allegedly commits suicide, which isn’t even the first staged death screenwriter Steven Knight inserts into “Closed Circuit.” Because of potentially damaging facts in the case, the new defense duo cannot access the same evidence entered by prosecutors. Nice as a plot device, this protocol complicates the discovery process and defense strategy of the court-appointed Claudia (Rebecca Hall) and Martin (Eric Bana), former lovers who conveniently lie to their overseers about their past entanglement. Crowley effectively marshals the look and pace of the latter-day paranoid thriller. (The usual political message is there too.) As in the recent “Paranoia,” people in power will play lesser mortals to their own ignoble ends. National security and corporate espionage are kindred evils necessary for suspense. Both films use banks of closed-circuit video screens in a mise-en-scène of pervasive, invasive surveillance. The device is up-to-the-minute, but functions more as decor than any kind of deconstruction of thriller entertainment on the larger screen. With Ciårán Hinds, Riz Ahmed, Jim Broadbent, Anne-Marie Duff, Kenneth Cranham, Julia Stiles. 98m. (Bill Stamets)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
Heart: A Review of Soul The real world is soulful, too, in Pixar's bountiful life of the mind.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
Fine Line: A Review Of Shortcomings It's a season for the comeuppance of a curmudgeon in Randall Park's smart, biting "Shortcomings," adapted by Adrian Tomine from his graphic novel of the same name.
Heart of Darkness: A Review of The Batman The three-hour film noir unfolds briskly, an intensive study in the pervasive interplay of power, money and corruption in what seems like perpetual rainy night.
Uncanny Ally: A Review Of M3GAN "M3GAN" sells itself in its first handful of seconds in how it introduces the handiwork of roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams, "Get Out") and her present product, PurrPetual Petz from Funki.
John Crowley’s topical yet workmanlike thriller pits imperiled barristers against British counter-terrorists who kill to keep secret operational errors that are WikiLeaks worthy; collateral damage includes a deputy bureau chief of the New York Times. Six months after a truck bomb detonates in a market, killing 120 Londoners, the initial attorney for imprisoned suspect Farroukh (Denis Moschitto) allegedly commits suicide, which isn’t even the first staged death screenwriter Steven Knight inserts into “Closed Circuit.” Because of potentially damaging facts in the case, the new defense duo cannot access the same evidence entered by prosecutors. Nice as a plot device, this protocol complicates the discovery process and defense strategy of the court-appointed Claudia (Rebecca Hall) and Martin (Eric Bana), former lovers who conveniently lie to their overseers about their past entanglement. Crowley effectively marshals the look and pace of the latter-day paranoid thriller. (The usual political message is there too.) As in the recent “Paranoia,” people in power will play lesser mortals to their own ignoble ends. National security and corporate espionage are kindred evils necessary for suspense. Both films use banks of closed-circuit video screens in a mise-en-scène of pervasive, invasive surveillance. The device is up-to-the-minute, but functions more as decor than any kind of deconstruction of thriller entertainment on the larger screen. With Ciårán Hinds, Riz Ahmed, Jim Broadbent, Anne-Marie Duff, Kenneth Cranham, Julia Stiles. 98m. (Bill Stamets)
