Closed Circuit

Eric Bana was so incredibly good in Chopper a decade ago that the comedian-turned-leading man is still getting roles based on it. That must be the case, because he’s been boring ever since and he’s sleepwalking through Closed Circuit, a film that’s almost taut enough to recommend. Bana is teamed with Rebecca Hall—who fares much better—as barristers working on opposite threads of the case against the same client accused of bombing London and killing hundreds. Hall is a special advocate whose job is to present very sensitive material that has national defense consequences in a closed session. As the suspect’s primary defense lawyer, Bana can know none of those details. It’s an interesting quirk of the current British legal system. Unfortunately, as the noose gets tighter around Bana and Hall, the identity of the hangman in this paranoid government critique is far too predictable.