I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Blistering performances.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

"Closed Circuit" (2013), an adrenaline-pumping political thriller, portrays corrupt government forces who will stop at nothing. It's an exciting genre. The title "Closed Circuit" is designed to raise the alarm over both the injustice of closed court hearings and the use of surveillance technology. Covert surveillance amplifies the sense that London has become a police state with ubiquitous security cameras. We don't know who's watching or how they're using what they see. The opening scene provides the hook. After a truck explodes in London's bustling Borough Market, killling 120 people, authorities at MI5 swiftly arrest a Muslim immigrant, Farroukh Erdogan based on closed circuit surveillance. Read the entire review at: unhealedwound.com

I missed the first half hour or so and those minutes must have been critical because this is one of those complicated mystery thrillers involving institutional conflicts. Bana and Hall represent an accused Arab "terrorist" in London. They want to introduce evidence that he was actually working as an MI5 undercover agent. MI5, naturally, tries to (and succeeds in) preventing this from happening, in the name of national security. It's David against Goliath and, as it would happen anywhere except in myth, Goliath wins.But no one should have the impression that this is just another smash-'em-up action movie. It's intelligently written, acted, and directed. Absent are the usual trite devices used to juice up an otherwise dull story -- slow motion deaths, the screams of the strangled, the endangered child, the pretty lady undressing while a monster peers through her window. That, in itself, raises the movie a step above most of the other detritus littering our screens these days. And of course the story is of fundamental importance in pitting two concepts of "justice" against one another -- the individual and the national.The other elements of the film -- the photography and location shooting and the rest -- are of professional caliber. Ciaran Hinds is a standout in his role of companion, mentor, and traitor. Rebecca Hall has an endearing lisp. And Eric Bana has marked malars.If it shows up on the telly again, I wouldn't object to seeing it from the beginning.

It's a fine movie. I personally liked the portrayal of the hardships we experience on providing due process when the facts involve terrorism - I don't know why, but people seem to forget they too deserve a fair trial for their actions. It also gives the viewer a glimpse of the mechanisms of a judiciary system. I liked the very fact that this time, the judge is not the bad guy stomping on the truth with his power. He was trying to get the facts and reach a reasonable decision, he was trying to serve justice (weren't they all?). In most movies, the power hungry lunatic killing everyone in the name of his secrets is always the judge. That's a very unfair portrayal. Must judges are pretty out of the so-called loop of power sit on their benches just doing their jobs, giving back to their community. Another thing I liked (a lot): it doesn't have a happy ending. It has a human ending, a plausible one. Something we can relate to (and for some, it even fuels up that "I'll save the world" feeling). I found it a good thriller and was very surprised to see it had little to none promotion. We have some many meh flicks these days... And a movie as nice as this one, is kept in the shadows. Go figure. The acting is delicious - Bana held his own as a Brit! Congrats. And it felt soooooooo good to see the Queen again. Anne-Marie Duff is always a sight to sore eyes on screen (and till this day I secretly wish she was in Game of Thrones or played the very last Doctor on BBC, that would be marvelous). Julia Stiles felt a bit underused here. I wish she was more like Denzel on "The Pelican Brief". Rebecca Hall and Jim Broadbent, as always, impeccable. And did anyone see little Bran here? Isaac H. Wright is Bana's son - the cinematography is AWESOME, the story feels well written and tight, the pacing keeps you on your edge. I enjoyed the flick very much.

I have a friend who says that subject line to his history students, and he also says it when he's called up for jury duty. The power of the state is awesome. Because it is, it should be careful how that power is used.Well, ha-ha, we all know that doesn't happen, and that's what Closed Circuit is about. The beginning of the movie shows a bomb going off in a public place in London, killing 121 people. The bomber, Farroukh Erdogan (Denis Moschitto) is arrested.The case is assigned to two lawyers, Martin Rose and Claudia Simmons-Howe (Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall). The two have a connection: they are ex-lovers, and Martin's affair with her broke up his marriage.Claudia is to represent the interests of Erdogan in a private hearing, which in itself is controversial. She and Martin are not to have any contact with one another once the she is shown confidential information. This is so the public trial will not be compromised.Later, Martin attends a party and meets a New York Times reporter. She tells him something that makes him realize that his every move is being watched. Martin and Claudia get into the case and find out that the defendant is not who he appears to be. And their lives are in jeopardy.Suspenseful and thought-provoking, this is a well-acted, excellent drama about the lengths government will go to to protect itself -- forget about the citizens. I think people realize that today there is no such thing as privacy, and I'm sure most people realize the government is corrupt. But how corrupt? That's something, from the low rating on this board, that most people don't understand.The ending of this film may be a little pat, but don't let it keep you from seeing this film.