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via Universal
A hybrid of political drama, surveillance thriller, and potentially timely sociopolitical parable that came packing plenty of top talent on either side of the camera and a decent-sized budget, there were plenty of reasons to be quietly excited for the arrival of Closed Circuit when it was gearing up for release in 2013.
Hailing from acclaimed Intermission and Boy A director John Crowley, with a screenplay by Eastern Promises scribe and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, the plot saw a suspect captured and held in London in the aftermath of a devastating terrorist attack, with Rebecca Hall’s lawyer appointed as the top advocate for the defense.
The day before the trial is set to begin, though, the the terrorist’s lawyer dies in coincidentally suspicious circumstances, with Eric Bana stepping in at the last second to take over. Naturally, he and Hall are former flames, a fact that has to be kept secret for ethical and professional reasons, which doesn’t hold up for too long when the pair end up plunged into a sprawling conspiracy.
The supporting cast also features Riz Ahmed, Jim Broadbent, Ciarán Hinds, Julia Stiles, and more, so it was crushingly disappointing to discover that Closed Circuit was perpetually dull. The performances are as solid as you’d expect, but the end result is the sort of bland-yet-polished thriller Hollywood knocks out in its sleep, which was a huge disappointment.
Reviews may have been thoroughly mediocre at the time, but Closed Circuit has been picking up steam on-demand. Almost a decade after bombing at the box office after barely scraping together $6 million, the mildly diverting escapade has found renewed popularity on the iTunes charts, as per FlixPatrol.