2. CLOSED CIRCUITS
Plot
A massive car bomb at Borough Market leaves a hundred dead
and a suspect in the hands of the British legal system. But with
MI5 muscling in and the Attorney General (Broadbent) demanding
a closed trial, defending QCs Martin Rose (Bana) and Claudia
Simmons-Howe (Hall) sense that the odds are stacked against
them. Then there's their own mutual past...
3. CLOSED CIRCUITS
Review
Don't be hoodwinked by the Orwellian chill of the title; London’s
surveillance network barely features in John Crowley’s pedestrian
courtroom thriller. Events hinge around a wrinkle of British law —
that two barristers are required to defend an immigrant accused of
bombing Borough Market. One handles the client, the other
carries evidence stymied by the State Secrets Act. Contact
between them is forbidden, except these two are former lovers...
Cue: frantic pay-as-you-go pow-wows while being chased
between Soho lock-ups, as Closed Circuit labours through its
joyless ‘thought-provoking’ posturing.
4. CLOSED CIRCUITS
Verdict
With Eastern Promises and Dirty Pretty Things, screenwriter
Steven Knight has proved his ear for London's darker rhythms.
Here, though, there's little to raise the pulse.
•
Focus Features distributed this film which
has a narrative based around a terrorist
organisation.
•
This film is very similar to MISJUDGED and
we would like the success that focus features
bought to Closed Circuits to also present
within our film.
•
Focus Features gave Closed Circuits success
with their ability to market and advise the
product.
5. CLOSED CIRCUITS
What features from ‘Closed Circuits’ we incorporated into ‘Misjudged’
•
We really liked the element of mystery which is present throughout
the film with lack of knowledge your given about each character
•
The contrasts between the shots within the opening sequence is
good, it makes the action sequence more dramatic, we tried to use
similar lighting
What ‘Closed Circuits’ did better than us
•
The element of surprise works really well within this film, it isn't
obvious what is going to happen throughout the film, we could have
liked to have included this within our film but this was difficult to
convey within an opening sequence
•
The opening sequence focused less on character building and more
on theme setting, this worked really well and we could of done this if
making ‘Misjudged’ into a feature length film.
6. THE DEBT
Plot
Berlin, 1965. A trio of young Mossad agents is assigned to track
down a wanted Nazi war criminal (Jesper Christensen). But while
the mission seemingly ends in triumph with the three heroes
killing their target, the truth is something quite different. And in
1997, the past comes back to haunt them.
7. THE DEBT
Review
The Debt raises questions of living with a lie and of adhering
to the cynical dictum enunciated in John Ford's The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance: "When the legend becomes fact,
print the legend." But it deals with them in an unsatisfactorily
factitious way as Rachel, Stephan and David, now middleaged and played by Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds in 1997
Tel Aviv, face the consequences of their terrible deceit. One
does not want to give away too much, or indeed any, of the
subsequent plot, but it is dramatically unconvincing and
morally unsatisfactory. It's also a pity that Mirren, Wilkinson
and Hinds carry little resemblance to their younger selves
save for the jagged scar on Rachel's right cheek.
8. THE DEBT
Verdict
A smart, tense, well-acted thriller undercut by a disappointing
finale and an occasional lack of focus. But at least this offers
something for those looking for a film with more on its mind than
simple set-pieces.
•
Focus Features distributed this film
•
This film is very similar to MISJUDGED and
we would like the success that focus features
bought to THE DEBT to also present within
our film.
•
Focus Features gave THE DEBTsuccess with
their ability to market and advise the product.
9. THE DEBT
Features from ‘The Debt’ we incorporated into ‘Misjudged’
• Pacing of the opening sequence
• Protagonist turning bad
• Interrogation scene
• Contrasting lighting
What ‘The Debt’ did better than us
• More violent interrogation – with actors consent
Ø Interrogator was more brutal
• Used a birds eye shot to establish the interrogation
location
