CLOSED CIRCUIT

year: 2013 cast: Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Ciarán Hinds, Jim Broadbent, Kenneth Cranham, Julie Stiles rating: ***

Cable movies have gotten better throughout the years, but that can be a problem. Especially when a theatrical film plays out like one. Which isn’t so bad in the case of CLOSED CIRCUIT, a decent thriller centering on two British defense attorneys for a Middle Eastern man accused of masterminding a terrorist act: the bombing of an outdoor mall is witnessed in the first five minutes from a collage of monitors, a device continued sporadically through the rest of the film.

Eric Bana’s Martin Rose has a reason to be paranoid. Not only is the same taxicab driving him around town, but he’s breaking rules by working with ex lover Claudia, played by Rebecca Hall, and their past heats up along with the case, inevitably resulting in both their lives being put in jeopardy.

The best scenes are in the build-up: Martin checks up on his client’s background as outside elements move in. Meanwhile, the romance with Claudia is standard fare, adding little to this refreshingly short movie that plays the cliché card in every (somewhat predictable) twist and turn. But Eric Bana's intense truth-seeking determination makes CIRCUIT worthwhile.