We live in a world where power plays and secret operations are being used by both terrorist cells and the anti-terrorism organizations trying to track them down. This thriller opens in a London marketplace where a truck bomb goes off killing many innocent bystanders. The police arrest an Arab immigrant Farroukh (Denis Moschitto) who they believe is part of a larger terrorist cell. When his defense attorney dies suddenly, Martin Rose (Eric Bana) is assigned the job. Another defense lawyer, Claudia Simmons-Howe (Rebecca Hall), serves as a Special Advocate to review the classified evidence in the government's case. Behind the scenes the man trying to control the proceedings is the Attorney General (Jim Broadbent), chief legal advisor to the Crown and its government in England and Wales. He wants to make sure that none of the messy details and muck-ups in this case see the light of day.
John Crowley directs this thriller based on a nuanced screenplay by Steven Knight. Starting with the opening scene of the bombing viewed through numerous building cameras, the film effectively reveals the widespread use of surveillance technology to keep track of all activity on London's streets. It is soon clear that nothing the lawyers do goes unnoticed. The drama has a special twist in that Martin and Claudia are former lovers who try unsuccessfully to keep their former affair hidden. When the case turns into something larger and more insidious than either could have imagined, they are forced to band together to save their lives and reveal what is really going on.
Crowley and Knight aim high with Closed Circuit, seeking to match the dramatic tension of Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View. This film is not quite up to the standard sets by those conspiracy classics, but it is a riveting thriller nonetheless. Rebecca Hall gives a terrific performance as the driven and hyper-intellectual Special Advocate.
Special features on the Blu-Ray/DVD include "Secrets behind the camera: Closed Circuit."
