Screened Out: Closed Circuit

[two-star-rating]Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Julia Stiles, Jim Broadbent[/two-star-rating]

It may be oddly comforting to know that America does not corner the market on conspiracy theories – or even conspiracy theory films.

In fact, given that Britain once colonized much of the globe – including us – it makes perfect sense that their government probably taught our FBI and our CIA how to screw things up. Both the UK and the US are notorious for being nefarious, sneaky, murderous, and hypocritical while supposedly protecting the very freedoms they secretly limit.

That being said, there’s nothing particularly surprising about Closed Circuit. We’re well aware that our governments have the power to spy on us. We also know that – due to recently declassified documents and Wikileaks – our spy agencies often meddle in national and international affairs. They do so under the delusion that they know how to run things better. Repeated wars, terrorist attacks, bad foreign relations, and lost faith at home and abroad have all proven them distinctly wrong for decades. And yet, still they carry on.

Eric Bana is a lawyer representing a foreign man accused of a terrorist attack that killed 120 Londoners. Because the accused is also mixed in government business, a special advocate (Hall) is also hired. She argues in secret session to try to get national security data admitted in court. The problem is that she and Bana are supposed to do their work separately, and they once had an affair that destroyed Bana’s marriage. They’re being watched all the time. Also, there is clear evidence that the secrets they find are humiliating for the idiots at MI5.

Closed Circuit tries to be a smart thriller, but it mostly fails. The beginning is overtly confusing, but once things are sorted out, the film is disappointingly simple. Plot holes abound. Everything devolves into tense scenes with half-information and chase sequences.

There’s also that wimpy romance, where the characters are never given chance to develop.

[rating-key]

Finally, there is no mystery here; we’ve seen all this spy stuff 15 years ago in Enemy of the State. Moments are meant to feel reminiscent of Hitchcock but instead feel reductive. Other elements try to reach the level of savvy and intellect of John le Carre; Closed Circuit’s aim far exceeds its grasp.

Handsome and talented Eric Bana’s career has suffered serious fits and starts (Hulk, Munich, The Time Traveler’s Wife). Rebecca Hall is the same – glories like The Town are erased every time she does something like The Awakening. Let’s not go into gory detail about how poor Julia Stiles is completely relegated to half-interesting support roles.

Still, the film looks good – cold blues augmented by grainy surveillance camera work. Music composer Joby Talbot created so many moods with such prevalent music that he deserves more credit than underwhelming director John Crowley (Intermission, Boy A) – who hasn’t produced a success yet.

Here, Crowley’s all style and choppy, overlapping editing. The real conspiracy is that Crowley still gets to keep making films.