**
No
one could accuse Closed Circuit of not being current. It captures key fears in
this day and age: international terrorism and its connected shady government
dealings. It is a great pity that the film is so lifeless.
A
bomb goes off in London, annihilating Borough Market and killing a large number
of people. A suspect, Farroukh Erdogan (Dennis Moschitto) is apprehended and
preparations are made for the high-profile trial. Erdogan’s lawyer dies
suddenly and a new defence attorney, Martin Rose (Eric Bana) takes his place. Due
to classified material required as evidence, the government appoints an
additional defence lawyer - a Special Advocate, Claudia Simmons-Howe (Rebecca
Hall). Rose and Simmons-Howe once had an affair and are forced to keep it
secret so as not to jeopardise the case. As the trial progresses, the pair
uncover increasingly-sinister information. It is not long before a government
conspiracy is discovered.
The
film starts quite well. The initial explosion is directed in a unique and
different way – seen from multiple closed circuit cameras, splitting the
screen. The every-day banality of the victims’ behaviour in the build-up to the
event makes for a chilling watch. There are some nice surveillance touches
which certainly feel authentic. The underhandedness of the intelligence
agencies, to get a result by any means, is decidedly creepy.
The
central conceit, on which the film rests – Rose and Simmons-Howe’s romantic
history threatening to disrupt the case – is a dismal and unexciting plot
device. The eternally peeved-off pair regret the affair simply because it’s
affecting their work. Not the sexiest set-up to re-ignite the flames of
passion. Of course, those flames are
re-ignited, but to little cinematic effect. Both the leads are hugely
unlikeable. The only redeeming feature in each of them is a commitment to their
work. Hall is unpleasantly frosty throughout and the Australian Bana is a
horrible toff (with a questionable plummy accent).
The
film is held back by expositional dialogue. There is so much information,
leadenly conveyed, that the human story is engulfed by it. It impedes the
characterisation too. While these facts and figures may push the action forward
it does little to flesh out the characters. Most lines sound like recitations
from a law book.
There
is a top notch cast but an astounding number of performances miss the mark. The
talented likes of Ciarán Hinds, Julia Stiles,
Anne-Marie Duff and, most notably, Eric Bana all fail to deliver. The director even
manages to elicit a bad performance from Jim Broadbent. Kenneth Cranham (as the
judge) is an exception, as is Riz Ahmed who plays a sinister agent. That,
sadly, is not enough to save the film. It is flatly directed by John Crowley.
As well as the performances lacking pizzazz so does the courtroom jousting and any
action involved. It all descends into an underwhelming climax. There is no
visible attempt at a cinematic style. The result feels less like a film, more
like any generic TV drama.
