‘ Closed Circuit’ aims a lens at a complicated conspiracy

This intelligent thriller explores a timely topic

Suspenseful and relevant political thrillers are a too- rare commodity, especially during the summer months. Even more unusual are conspiracy tales that don’t rely on gunplay, gimmickry or explosive effects to keep the audience’s attention.

Closed Circuit is not only an intelligent, well- told and deftly acted story; it also provides refreshing counterprogramming in a season filled with noisy, uninspired sequels and mindless action movies. The film opens as a truck bomb goes off in a busy London marketplace, killing 120 people. A suspected member of a terrorist cell is accused of masterminding the attack and is imprisoned, awaiting a high- profile trial.

The case is a complex one with classified evidence considered so essential to national security that the British government invokes extreme procedures. For this type of case, the defendant is assigned two lawyers, one for the public trial and another who will oversee a closed portion of the trial.

Director John Crowley nimbly establishes an atmosphere of palpable anxiety from the first frame.

Romantic tension is woven into the tale, presumably to amp up the courtroom procedural elements. Defense attorney Martin Rose ( Eric Bana) had an affair with Special Advocate Claudia Simmons- Howe ( Rebecca Hall), the governmentappointed lawyer given sole access to classified evidence. It’s her role to decide if secret evidence should be disclosed during its closed- door phase. But their former relationship — the affair destroyed his marriage — must be kept under wraps, and the law requires that the two barristers not interact during the trial. As lifethreatening events loom, however, their communication is essential.

Adding romantic intrigue to a conspiracy thriller could have felt like a contrivance. But thanks to superbly believable performances by Bana and Hall, this plot point feels natural. Bana’s character is keenly watchful, projecting a confidence that borders on arrogance. Hall plays a resourceful, laser- focused attorney whose idealism hasn’t been compromised.

Video cameras are ubiquitous, recording everything from the mundane to the criminal. The film opens with several views of the market as seen through surveillance cameras just before the explosion. The multicamera technique is interspersed throughout the story, contributing to a sense of paranoia.

Skillful editing adds to the ominous mood. The screenplay by Steve Knight, who also wrote Eastern Promises and Dirty Pretty Things, is labyrinthine but lucid as it exposes conflicting agendas and avoids bogging down in procedural minutiae. The ensemble cast is spot- on.

With its chilling sense of menace, Closed Circuit is captivating and particularly unnerving in its focus on the unscrupulous acts of covert government entities.

JAY MAIDMENT, FOCUS FEATURES Martin ( Eric Bana) and Claudia ( Rebecca Hall) are lawyers — and former lovers — on opposite sides of a terror case.